Plastic has been in the news a lot lately, and not always for the best reasons. With many single-use plastics becoming more and more of an environmental concern, the pressure is on more than ever for rotomoulding and plastic manufacturing companies to reduce and prevent plastic waste. In the midst of this, the Green Alliance has recently published a report which highlights ways that the UK could be recycling and re-using plastic more effectively. Here’s what it says!
The main points of the Green Alliance report
One of the key takeaways of the Green Alliance’s report is that only 9% of plastics are recycled in the UK. As a result, the researchers are advising a shift in government policy to support more domestic recycling. So what’s the action being recommended? Well, experts indicate that the government could take positive steps by:
- Bringing in mandatory targets for recycled content in products
- Short-term subsidies for the recycling industry to kick-start growth
- Funding to help stabilise shifting prices in the market
At the moment, government policy is only focused on recycling products in general, rather than specifically plastic products. Britain consumes roughly 3.3 million tonnes of plastic every year, and from all our collected plastic waste, two thirds of that is sent overseas to be processed. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that it will be!
However, developing a stronger plastic manufacturing market at home could help us to process another 2 million tonnes of plastic into a newly-usable form right here in the UK. This wealth of new material can then provide at least 70% of the raw material that UK plastic manufacturing companies need to create their packaging and products. Once it’s been used it can be recycled again, and the process starts anew! Ultimately, this means far less ‘virgin’ plastic is used, creating a more circular economy and helping the UK to meet its plastic recycling targets. What could be better?
How do we cut down on waste here at Excelsior?
As you can imagine, we’ve never been exactly all for plastic waste here at Excelsior. As a British plastic manufacturing company, we recognise our responsibility to ongoing sustainability and efficiency, and part of the way we uphold that responsibility is through our own Recycle Black material. If you’ve never heard of Recycle Black, essentially it’s a by-product of our natural manufacturing process, and we make sure to put it to maximum use.
When we create a plastic product, we collect all our own off-cuts and scrap mouldings, and cut them up in our Bury workshop. Next, this material is processed, melted down and transformed into black powder (hence the name). This then allows us to create brand new plastic products, using the raw material to its maximum potential and creating a small circular economy of our own!
Recycle Black also holds a number of distinct advantages for our customers too, as it’s cheaper and more economic than raw ‘virgin’ plastic. This makes it a fantastic budget option when times get tight!
Whatever you’re looking for, it’s never a bad idea to start by browsing our range of plastic and roto moulded products right here at Excelsior, including our range of materials handling products. Give us a call here on 0161 765 2010 to see how we can make your plastic product a reality!