EARLY September saw the launch of a national plastics recycling campaign, Pledge 4 Plastics. Led by Recoup (see article above), the initiative is a government-backed cross-industry partnership, which aims to increase the collection of plastic packaging for recycling.
The need is urgent, says Recoup. With recycling levels plateauing and challenging recycling targets for packaging waste for the period 2013-17, plastic packaging recycling levels need to double over this five-year period. Increasing household plastic packaging recycling will be pivotal to achieving these targets. Without intervention, the UK will fall short and PRN prices and costs to businesses will rise.
With all UK local authorities providing service provision for recycling of plastic bottles, the Pledge 4 Plastics campaign is urging people to make a promise to recycle just one extra plastic bottle per household each week using their existing services. With the current household plastic bottle recycling rate of only 58%, there is vast potential for increased collections. By diverting more material to recycling, this campaign will deliver economic and environmental benefits for waste management companies, local authorities and reprocessors.
The website, and also a communications toolkit, social media pages and social media plan have been developed to help you and consumers get involved. The Pledge 4 Plastics partners would encourage the industry to get fully behind the launch and to use all online channels to publicise the launch throughout September to help boost awareness and encourage as many people as possible to make the pledge!
