Packs and Closures

The use of recycled PET in retail packaging is being hindered by inadequate recycling schemes and the lack of reprocessing plants, a Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) conference heard last month.

Only 15% of PET consumed in the UK is actually recycled back into production, despite significant environmental benefits. “In terms of carbon dioxide emissions, there’s no scenario which says that landfill is better than the recycling of plastic,” said WRAP’s plastics technical manager Paul Davidson (pictured).

Coca-Cola engineer Karel Wendl said recycled PET had been “painful and difficult in its birth” but was starting to “develop rapidly”.

But it is not just a question of building reprocessing plants. The huge shortfall in the availability of post-consumer plastic highlights the need for better collection infrastructure. Kerbside bottle collection in the UK is limited to around half of all households, and only 40% of the 100,000 tonnes of plastic bottles collected are PET.

Plastics expert Edward Kosier called for an improvement in the sorting process, saying some of the PET bottles being collected were rejected by sorting machines because they had PVC sleeves.

But, despite the problems, trials have shown that consumers are highly supportive of recycled PET in packaging.

“This allows brands to build significant goodwill,” said Peter Skelton of WRAP’s retail team. “By using recycled content, the industry can gain commercial advantages without compromising quality.”