According to the research only 9% of the plastics used worldwide are recyled and over half of those surveyed (56%) believe there is not enough information on recycling. Waste management company Veolia has been ‘innovating’ and developing its plastics recycling technology.
The Dagenham facility is ‘pioneering’ the use of a new detectable black pigment for HDPE bottles. The black pigment means bottles can be detected by recycling plant scanners and sorted for recycling, helping a further 2,500 tonnes of plastic bottles to be recycled each year.
Tim Duret, director of sustainable technology at Veolia UK and Ireland, said: “We are ready to invest in domestic infrastructure, to process more materials, develop technology to recycle different types of plastics and to boost the circular economy, cutting the nation’s carbon emissions and doing our environmental duty.
“The Environment Bill will enshrine in law the need for greener practices and incentivise manufacturers to eco-design their products through various measures such as the extended producer responsibility scheme and the deposit return scheme which will in turn make the recycling process easier and more accessible.
“It is therefore essential that the Plastics Packaging Tax and the Resources and Waste Strategy go ahead without delay, so the nation can meet our sustainable targets and do the planet justice.”