Ecosurety has announced a new deal with plastic waste chemical recycling specialists Recycling Technologies, accelerating the commercial roll out of an innovative technology to improve the scope and capacity of plastic recycling in the UK.
The long-term partnership seeks to offer a solution for the mounting challenges associated with plastic pollution. The deal ties in to Ecosurety’s broader business objectives to provide high-level traceability for its customers and to stimulate recycling infrastructure in the UK.
The UK currently exports 66% of the plastic waste it collects for recycling due to a lack of domestic recycling infrastructure. In its recent Packaging Recycling Obligations report (July 2018), the UK’s National Audit Office (NAO) criticised a six-fold increase in the UK’s exported packaging waste. It revealed that exported material is not quality controlled or audited and is often being sent to landfill sites abroad, unbeknownst to companies and consumers in the UK.
£3.2million commitment to boost UK recycling infrastructure
To help address this problem, Ecosurety is committing an estimated £3.2million to Recycling Technologies, over the partnership. This funding, will help accelerate Recycling Technologies’ chemical recycling capacity which enables mixed plastic waste currently disposed of in landfill or incinerators to be recycled into a valuable oil/wax raw material product named Plaxx®. Plaxx will be used in the production of wax and by the petrochemical companies as a feedstock for making new plastics.
In addition, Ecosurety has secured a fixed PRN price from Recycling Technologies which it can pass on to its base of over 1,000 customers. The fixed PRN price creates more stability into the recycling market. For producers who are obliged to purchase tens of thousands of PRN’s each year, it offers security of price without compromising on environmental integrity.
Aim to reduce the quantity of recycling sent to export or landfill
Of the estimated 3.3million tonnes of plastic waste generated in the UK each year, 32% is collected for recycling. Much of the 2.2million tonnes of remaining plastic waste is unrecyclable. This includes films, coloured plastics and laminated plastics (e.g. crisp packets). These common plastic waste products are currently incinerated or sent to landfill sites, negatively impacting the environment. Investment in innovative companies such as Recycling Technologies not only builds UK business capacity and creates jobs, it addresses urgent environmental issues by reducing the quantity of recycling that the country is forced to export or send to landfill.
Urgent need for more plastic recycling capacity in the UK
James Piper, Managing Director of Ecosurety says, “There is an urgent need for more plastic recycling capacity in the UK so that we can ensure high levels of transparency in this sector. Working together with Recycling Technologies, Ecosurety is improving the potential capacity of our existing recycling market. This partnership is hugely exciting and aligns with our long-standing business objectives; to help provide the highest level of transparency and best price for our customers’ recycling solutions”.
Adrian Griffiths, CEO, Recycling Technologies says, “We share a common vision with Ecosurety, to drive growth and innovation in the UK plastic recycling market. Our chemical approach to recycling residual plastics means PRN certificates from Recycling Technologies will be of significant value to Ecosurety’s retail and FMCG customers looking to invest in building the domestic recycling infrastructure. We chose to enter into this three year contract with Ecosurety to accelerate our growth and expand our capacity to recycle more plastic waste here in the UK, reducing the country’s dependence on exporting, landfilling and incinerating plastic waste.”
About Recycling Technologies
Recycling Technologies Ltd is at the forefront of innovation in plastic recycling, creating value from residual plastic waste on a global scale. Recycling Technologies has patented a process to economically recycle mixed plastic waste – that is currently disposed of in landfill or incinerators – into a valuable hydrocarbon product, named Plaxx®, with multiple uses in the wax and petrochemical sectors. Award-winning Plaxx® can be used by polymer manufacturers to make new plastic thereby propelling plastic into the circular economy. Some of the UK’s leading experts in engineering, energy, waste management and commercial operations make up the Recycling Technologies team and board. Recycling Technologies’ chemical recycling process has been built into a modular machine, the RT7000, that will be mass produced and transported to existing recycling facilities around the world. With an innovative distributed approach, Recycling Technologies has the potential to quickly scale to a meaningful global presence in the UK and globally. For further information, please visit www.recyclingtechnologies.co.uk
About Ecosurety
Ecosurety is the market leading compliance scheme investing in quality recycling. With more than 1,000 customers including The Co-operative Group, Innocent, Morrisons and Virgin Media, Ecosurety supports efficient and more transparent investment in UK recycling projects via infrastructure, innovation and consumer awareness campaigns. Committed to reducing the environmental impact of UK businesses, and to a tangible increase in UK recycling, Ecosurety helps producers organise quality evidence to ensure they comply with packaging, WEEE, batteries and international regulations. For more information please visit www.ecosurety.com
Stéphanie Housty
Head of Marketing & Sustainability
Stéphanie joined Ecosurety as marketing manager in 2015 after 15 years performing operational and strategical marketing roles in both B2C and B2B global businesses. In addition to shaping the marketing and communication strategy, she is in charge of moving up the dial on Ecosurety’s social and environmental impact by driving the sustainability strategy.
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