NEWS
Recycling Roadmap shows UK how to cut waste exports
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) has issued a report highlighting what the UK needs to achieve in order to drastically reduce its reliance on exporting waste plastics for recycling. The report was published amid uncertainty among stakeholders about the ability of the UK and EU member countries to adhere to amendments to the Basel Convention which took effect on 1 January. The BPF’s Recycling Roadmap
estimates plastics recycling in UK facilities could increase 3.5 times by 2030 with 16 key actions. It projects that: the UK could recycle up to 65% of all plastic and 75% of plastic packag- ing by 2030; plastic waste going to landfill could be cut to 1%; the amount of waste reprocessed by chemical recycling could grow 60 times, with capacity to process 300,000 tpa of waste by 2030. The key actions the
report calls for include unified plastic waste collection schemes across all local authori- ties, the kerbside collection of plastic film, increases in the use of recycled material in new
products and better communication to the public about what can be recycled. Philip Law, Director General of the
BPF, said: “Drastically reducing our reliance on exporting plastic waste for recycling and the amount of plastic waste going to landfill is achievable and this roadmap shows how. Most importantly, there needs to be significant investment in increasing UK recycling capacity.” On 1 January, the EU implemented changes to the Basel Convention on global waste shipments and enacted a ban on exports of unsorted and contaminated plastic waste to non- OECD countries. But the UK, no longer part of the EU, has been criticised for instead using an option in the updated Convention to gain “prior informed consent” from non- OECD countries that will allow plastics waste exports to continue to those countries that give consent. The BPF said it has called for many years for the UK to reduce its reliance on exporting plastic waste and the Recycling Roadmap shows how it is possible to
achieve that goal. Nonetheless, Helen Jordan, BPF Senior Recycling Issues Executive, said: “The UK currently does not have enough recycling infrastruc- ture to reprocess all its plastic waste and needs to continue to export some material for recycling. However, it is essential that this material is sent to facilities able to process it in an environmentally sound manner and there are adequate checks in place.” She continued: “If plastic waste is to
be exported without prior informed consent, certain criteria must be met, such as being ‘almost free from contamination’ [as stated in the Basel Convention amendments]. Waste shipment regulations in the UK have been amended to reflect this. Due to the fact these changes prohibit mixed low-quality material from being exported without consent, the BPF is hopeful that these changes will help to drive up the overall quality of recycled material.”
In Germany, the BDE waste manage- ment association said the EU Commis- sion needs to clarify the obligation for plastic waste shipments to be “almost free from contamination”. Clarification is required in order to avoid damage to the European recycling industry, said the association. �
www.bpf.co.uk
VinylPlus Med targets PVC recycling
A new project called VinylPlus Med is bringing together hospitals, waste managers and recyclers across Europe to increase recycling of single-use PVC medical devices. The collaborative project is led by VinylPlus, the European PVC industry’s voluntary commitment platform.
4 The project will focus on
sorting and recycling of non-infectious PVC waste and builds on the success of the VinylPlus-funded RecoMed recycling scheme for PVC masks and tubing. “Starting with a pilot project in Belgium, we are excited to make medical plastics more circular together with
PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | January/February 2021
our partners,” said Brigitte Dero, Managing Director of VinylPlus. The Belgian project is a
partnership with the Europe Hospitals group in Brussels and will focus on high-quali- ty PVC waste of three dialysis facilities. Partners also include Renewi waste management group and
PVC recycler Raff Plastics based in Houthulst. All Belgian VinylPlus Med
partners are located within a radius of 120 km to mini- mise transport distances and mitigate the project’s carbon footprint. �
www.vinylplus.eu �
www.renewi.com �
www.raffplastics.be
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
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