NEWS
U.K. group questions export of plastics scrap
The British Plastics Federation's Recycling Group (BPFRG) has signalled major concerns over the growing shortage of usable plastics waste in the UK and has questioned the wisdom of exporting used materials at a time when demand for plastics recyclate is increasing in the domestic market.
The BPFRG is calling on local authorities to establish where their waste is going and is urging that it should be a condition of any materials reclamation facility (MRF) contract that the collector collates information on end markets. It is also calling for tighter controls on the export of waste with tougher action from Defra and the Environment Agency on shipments intended for disposal.
"The causes of the current difficulty are complex," said BPFRG chairman, Roger Baynham of Philip Tyler Polymers. "Manufacturing industry in the UK is bouncing back from the recession and increasing its demand for raw materials. Central to this is a heightened consciousness of sustainability which coupled with concerns over supply of some virgin polymers is exacerbating an already fraught situation.
“Many of our members have had a longstanding issue over the quality of the output materials from materials reclamation facilities, which they believe are processing waste more with an eye to volume for the global market than for quality. Hence the question of exports is now more acute.
“With Chinese landfill estimated to cost only 5% of that in the UK there is hardly a level playing.”
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