Thinking outside of the paintbox could be the key to improving recycling rates in Europe.
Sushi
Black and dark-coloured plastics are not unrecyclable, but they are often overlooked by infrared sorting technology in the waste stream unless the plastic contains detectable black colourants, thus ending up in landfill where the technology ensuring the darker plastics are picked down not exist – which in the UK is more often than not.
A report from the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed that 525,000 tonnes of plastic trays, pots and tubs are used by households in the UK annually but just 169,145 tonnes of this haul is recyclable. This is not just an issue for British recycling rates, as the issue of unpickable plastics translates across Europe and the wider world.
Both the LGA and WRAP (the charitable organisation the Waste and Resources Action Programme) are calling for more to be done to ensure plastic packaging has the best possible chance of being recycled, which means looking at colour.
NIR detectable colourants
WRAP suggests a phased approach, beginning with utilising NIR detectable black colourants, which have been successfully deployed in APET, CPET and PP trays that have been detected for commercial recycling. Although costly, WRAP believes the cost of using detectable colourants will diminish as demand rises.
Black CPET trays commonly used for ready meals packaging are not currently detected by optical sorters but WRAP has succeeded in its work with Marks and Spender and Sainsbury’s that by using alternative black dye pigments this packaging can be detected by recovery technology. The trays can then be recycled back into food grade trays, and if enough CPET is collected, the closed loop system can be financially viable, but currently not enough CPET is making it into the recycling stream.
Low-grade ban
Until the sorting technology is invested in to collect difficult-to-detect darker plastics, the LGA is calling on the manufacturers to do what they can to ensure their products are sortable, naming and shaming spread and ice cream tubs, ready meal packaging, meat packaging, fruit and vegetable punnets, polystyrene trays and yoghurt pots as the biggest culprits.
Spokesperson for environmental matters at LGA Judith Blake said: “We’ve been calling for producers of unrecyclable material to develop a plan to stop this from entering the environment for years. That needs to happen urgently, but the Government should now consider banning low-grade plastics, particularly those for single use, in order to increase recycling.
“If manufacturers don’t want to get serious about producing material which can be recycled and protecting our environment, then they should at least contribute towards the cost that local taxpayers have to pay to clear it up.”
Even just for CPET trays, the financial benefits of ensuring these materials are sortable by tweaking their colour chemistry are staggering. According to WRAP, if all black CPET trays in the UK were collected for recycling, this would amount to 30,000 tonnes of plastic being diverted from waste to energy plants or landfill, saving local authorities between £2.2 - £2.8 million (£2.4 -€3.1 million) annually in disposal costs.