UK governments report issues with plastic end markets

More than 50 percent of local governments in the United Kingdom say they are experiencing issues with plastic end markets in a new survey commissioned by Peterborough-based nonprofit RECycling of Used Plastics Limited (RECOUP) 

Released in May, the Local Authority Plastics End Market analysis surveyed local governments across the U.K. on how the changing position of end markets for plastics is affecting them. Majority of respondents say there are stable markets for good quality material, largely PET and HDPE bottles; however, end markets are becoming more “limited” and mixed and film plastics are increasingly being categorized by material recover facilities (MRFs) as “nonrecyclable.”

Since the Chinese government announced it would ban the import of postconsumer plastics, the market for plastic packaging has shifted. Malaysia, Vietnam and Poland are also enforcing import restrictions in response to a “rush” of plastic imports from the U.K. and other countries, which has transformed end markets for plastics in a “relatively short time,” the report says.

“Since the China announcement, we have had difficulty regarding the margarine tubs, yogurt pots and food trays, including polypropylene,” a survey respondent says. “However, we are successfully placing to market all types of plastic bottles, which we bale as mixed plastics of good quality. Quality seems key to both being able to place to market and get a decent price.”

While price per ton of mixed plastics has dropped, respondents say values for PET and natural HDPE plastic bottles are “remaining steady.” Local governments also report they are sending low quality plastics, including polypropylene and film plastics, to waste-to-energy facilities in response to falling prices and rejection from MRFs.

Commenting on the issue of film plastics, a respondent says, “Plastic film collection isn’t being address properly. The long-term solution seems to be that plastic films should be collected by all curbside schemes, but that is unlikely to become common practice for many years unless there is a market for this material. In the meantime, we just have the in-store facilities at larger supermarkets, but there is not an incentive to promote these collection points and deliver big in-store communication campaigns to increase collection rates. I expect the capture rate is currently well below one percent. There is huge potential for improvement assuming that there is still a recycling market for this material. If there isn’t, then it all becomes highly misleading.”

In addition, several governments report they are considering “small-scale changes” in how they educate residents about issues surrounding plastics, including reinforcing “plastic bottles only” recycling and launching contamination communication campaigns.

“Analysis of the current rejects suggest that 20 percent of our rejects is ‘non-target’ plastics, so as part of a general contamination communication campaign we are listing common plastics which we don’t want as well as the common rejects,” a respondent says.

A common consensus among the local governments is that current plastics packaging placed on the market, including plastic food packaging that has not been cleaned, leaves waste management companies with the problem of managing low quality material; however, “with an increased focus on design for recycling, there is increased optimism this could be transformed.”

“Over the last year plastics and environmental issues have gained greater media attention. This hasn’t entirely been beneficial to local authority recycling collections,” a respondent says. “We have seen a significant increase in a vast array of plastic material been put in the curbside collection systems, although approximately half of this is not recyclable through these schemes in their current state.”