On Monday 2nd March the Circular Economy Task Force co-hosted a conference with the Dutch Embassy in London on how to promote the trade in circular economy goods and services between the UK and the Netherlands. The Dutch ambassador Laetitia van den Assum welcomed an expert group of business, policy and academia representatives to a discussion organised around three issues: how policy can support a circular economy, how to deliver a ‘North Sea Resource Roundabout’, and what are the circular economy opportunities for plastics?

1. Circular Economy for
Plastics – UK reprocessors
perspective
Ray Georgeson MBE MCIWM FRSA
Chief Executive, Resource Association
Green Alliance Circular Economy Task Force and Embassy of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UK
London, 2nd March 2015

2. About the Resource Association
• Voice for the reprocessing and recycling industries,
providing advocacy for an important and growing
industry
• Launched Nov 2011
• Members from across the industry – reprocessors,
recycling supply chain and support industries
• Contributing c£3bn to GDP; over 6mt tonnes material
recycled; more than 10,000 direct jobs supported
• Active in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and
Wales
• Office in Otley, West Yorkshire; Brussels bureau

3. Our vision and mission
Our vision is for a resource efficient materials economy
that realises value, prizes quality and seeks to maintain
the integrity of the secondary materials that are still too
commonly treated as waste.
Our mission is to support the development of a
sustainable and healthy industry by providing a voice,
forum and leadership for the materials reprocessing and
recycling industries, as well as related environmental and
social interests. Member companies will promote the
management of materials as resources not wastes.

4. UK plastics recycling – a decade of rapid
change

5. UK Plastics Recycling - summary
• 2,535,000 tonnes of plastics packaging consumed in the UK, of
which 1,194,420 tonnes are from households
• Total of 440,401 tonnes collected (2012) - 316,054 tonnes of
plastic bottles and 124,347 tonnes of pots, tubs and trays
• Household Plastics Packaging Recycling Rates
• 58% Plastic bottles
• 19% Pots, tubs and trays
• 37% Overall for rigid plastics packaging
• 391 Local Authorities offer a kerbside collection service that
includes plastic bottles - 96% of all UK Local Authorities

6. Post-consumer plastic collections
in the UK - a summary
Tonnes/annum 2003 2009 2012 2017 (estimate)
Plastic Bottles 24,000 263,000 316,000 520,000
‘Non bottle’ Plastics 0 40,000 124,000 280,000
Total 24,000 303,000 440,000 800,000
‘Non-bottle’ plastics
(%)
0 13% 28% 35%
• Collection of plastic bottles is plateauing at around 50% - similar to other EU countries
• Recently announced Government targets will double tonnage available in the next 5 yrs
• UK has pushed for mixed plastics collections due to political pressure – ahead of
technology and markets
• UK collection system has grown quickly but fragmented
• The good news – the consumer has embraced recycling and wants to do the right thing
• 400 collection authorities in the UK
• More than 100 different types of collection systems in place!

7. UK Recycling Targets – still a major
challenge ahead
• 640,613 tonnes of plastics packaging recycled in 2012
(from household and C&I sectors)
• An estimated 1,213,000 tonnes of plastics packaging
to be recycled by 2017 to meet current UK targets
• If the household and C&I split was applied to 2017
there would be 836,970 tonnes of plastics packaging
being collected from UK households - a 90% increase
from the 440,401 tonnes collected for recycling in
2012

8. Collection methods
Separate Collection Kerbside Sort Co-mingled

9. Collection methods
Separate Collection Kerbside Sort Co-mingled
QUALITY COST

10. • Strong and growing demand
for recycled PET and HDPE
from brand owners and
retailers
• Using recycled polymer
significantly reduces the
carbon footprint against
equivalent virgin items
• Virgin prices and supply
pressure are increasing over
the long term (not at
moment…)
Market drivers

11. Customer demand
• PET bottle content from 25
to 50% rPET content
• UK Milk bottles at up to 30%
rHDPE content (50% by
2020)
• PET Pots, Tubs & Trays at
50% rPET content
• Products switching to PET to
use rPET (e.g. yoghurts)

12. What are mixed plastics?
Because of public confusion about polymer types, we think the best
description currently is ‘non-bottle plastics’
• Polypropylene (PP) – butter tubs, ice-cream tubs, food-trays
• Olefin films
• Polystyrene (PS) – cups, yoghurt pots
• Polyvinylchloride (PVC) – food trays, sandwich wrappers
• Polycarbonate (PC) & ABS – only in very small amounts in household
waste (post-consumer)
• ‘Other’ mixed plastics – typically black plastics including olefin and a
lot of cross-linked PET from ready meal containers

13. Mixed plastics: threat or opportunity?
Threat
• To efficiency of current plastics reprocessing - yes
• The UK plastics collection and processing market is in its
relative infancy
• Limited infrastructure has been built to process mixed plastic
bottles
• Plants are quoted in tonnes/hour but are volume driven
• If mixed plastics collection continues to grow without
suitable processing capacity/technology many existing plants
will face further viability challenges
Opportunity
• In the medium to long-term - yes
• Consistent end markets need to be developed – the
demand is there
• The requirement for resource efficiency and security
will help drive the economics

14. Coloured HDPE
End markets:
• Compound – huge demand
• Drainage and utility pipe
manufacture
• Storage tanks – water, diesel
etc
• Wheelie bins
• Alternative to wood

15. Coloured Polypropylene (PP)
End markets:
• Compound – automotive
sector
• Drainage and utility pipe
manufacture
• Storage tanks – water, diesel
• Wheelie bins
• Pallets
• Other alternatives to wood

16. Mixed Polystyrene (PS)
End markets:
• Current markets are limited
• Compound – automotive
sector
• CD case inners

17. Mixed Polyvinylchloride (PVC)
End markets:
• Current markets are limited
• Drainage pipes and gutters
• Tree guards
• Cooling tower filter

18. Residual mixed plastics (mainly black)
End markets:
• Currently energy recovery
• R&D on going into sorting
black plastics

19. Summarising and learning lessons
• As other countries in Europe seek to accelerate plastics collection and
reprocessing, there are some lessons to draw from recent UK experience
• UK started with a strategy totally focused on collection of plastic bottles
only - huge effort and resources deployed by WRAP supported by
Government strategy to build collection infrastructure and R&D/capital
investment/standards work (what was called recycling market
development) to ensure an industry existed to take and use the bottles -
supporting development of world leading technology on food grade
plastics packaging helped to drive this
• Political and therefore WRAP focus turned to mixed plastics before earlier
strategy had fully bedded down – pressure from waste companies and
councils on mixed collection, with the suggestion this was supported by
public demand
• Mixed plastics technology and collections have proved to be a mixed
picture… original companies supported have had to adapt their process to
a business model not anticipated – requiring much more pre-sort at their
own front-end

20. Summarising and learning lessons
• The result – short to medium term issues for reprocessors facing
unanticipated high costs of contamination and further sorting of poor
quality recyclate
• Still a lack of strong markets for products using mixed plastics and limited
potential, despite significant public funds deployed by WRAP and others to
this agenda
• Disjointed UK plastics recycling strategy – moving into mixed plastics
agenda before settling the successful plastic bottle recycling sector - has
had a deleterious effect on plastic bottle reprocessors
• Signals and strategy have to be clear and long-term to support investment
- when you settle your strategy, stick to it.
• The balancing of elements needed in a market development strategy is
challenging with multiple stakeholders
(collection/public/councils/sorters/reprocessors/end users/product
developers/retailers) - but - the needs of the manufacturer in the heart
of reprocessing must be central to your strategy.
• No circular economy without sustainable manufacturing!

21. Towards resource-based circular economy
policy measures: some highlights
Regulation & enforcement
• Regulation of MRFs now in force, needs
rapid progress and vigilance from regulators
in their delivery – to drive forward quality
improvements
• Enforcement of TFS Regulations – for
benefit of UK manufacturers and legal
exporters alike – a pro quality agenda not an
anti export agenda
Manufacturing strategy
•Strategic focus needed for green manufacturing –
support for product innovation, eco-design,
resource efficiency
•Create new Object C in Landfill Communities Fund
– time limited support for research and innovation
to support UK manufacturers to use recycled
content in next generation products
Transparency and communication
•Public and industry clarity on what happens to
recycling at home and abroad – End
Destinations of Recycling Charter is a starting
point
•Sustained public and industry communication
on value of resources and the importance of
their role in recovery
Fiscal and other policy measures
•Move to carbon-based indicators away from weight-
based
•Virgin resource levies, VAT differential for recycled
products
•Reform of PRN/PERN system to create level playing
field for UK manufacturers, especially plastics
reprocessors
• Better co-ordination of disjointed UK resources policy
through an Office of Resource Management

22. Conclusion
• UK plastics collection and processing has expanded rapidly over a decade, with
successes as well as hazards
•PET processing to food grade is reasonably well developed
but still a long way to go – but UK were pioneers here several years ago
• Mixed plastics processing in its infancy and whilst currently
challenging does present an opportunity but:
• End markets need to be developed and demand created
• Sort technology needs to continue to improve
• Readily available supply
• Significant capital expenditure will be required but huge tonnages of
material become available
• Opportunity for Europe to lead the way and in turn export (licence?)
our know how to the emerging markets

23. Thank you for your attention
Ray Georgeson, Chief Executive
ray.georgeson@resourceassociation.com
Resource Association
Suite One, 2 Boroughgate, Otley, West Yorkshire,
LS21 3AL, United Kingdom
+44(0) 1943 464778
www.resourceassociation.com