RECOUP’s 2014 Plastics Recycling Conference and 2014 Annual General Meeting recently took place in Peterborough, U.K., with more than 250 delegates in attendance.
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| Stuart Foster, CEO of RECOUP, and Dan Rogerson, DEFRA Resource Minister. |
Speakers representing the plastics recycling industry and the U.K. government shared their knowledge and experiences, which was hosted by RECOUP, the U.K.-based plastics recycling authority.
The keynote address was given by Dr. Helmut Maurer from the European Commission. He discussed plastic recycling in the context of the circular economy and the EU approach to lifecycle thinking. He outlined recent European Commission proposals and reflected that more attention should be focused on the materials stream.
In his presentation Maurer also questioned whether resources should be addressed through waste policy. He noted that one solution could be the development of separate resource policies. He added that too much plastic is sent to landfill, which could be used and recycled, and concluded that plastic is an ideal material to demonstrate the effectiveness of the circular economy model.
A video address from Dan Rogerson, DEFRA’s (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) Resource Minister, focused on the challenge and opportunity to deliver a change in the recycling of plastics, as well as his support of the plastic supply and recycling chain. Rogers also confirmed the U.K. government’s commitment to work with the plastic industry to achieve recycling targets and realise a genuinely resource-efficient economy.
In his presentation, Stuart Foster, CEO of RECOUP, pointed to figures made available by the Environment Agency that suggested that of the estimated £28 million (US$44.77 million) received for plastics Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) in 2013, little was allocated towards communications despite initiatives such as the national pledge4plastics campaign to increase household plastic recycling levels.
Foster identified that RECOUP’s soon-to-be-released annual survey is likely to report household plastic packaging collection levels of around 475,000 tonnes for 2013, with further gains in the number of pot and tray collections and modest increases in bottle collections. It also was noted that the design for recyclability guidance would be updated and re-issued before the end of the year.
Other attractions during the day-long event included demonstration 3D printers running with recycled polymer and the news that RECOUP mascots, which had been successfully used for campaigns over the last 15 years, have been recycled into picnic benches and bin liners by BPI Plc, the main sponsors of the conference.