486 million plastic bottles were recycled in 2003 5.5% of household plastic bottles are currently recycled 9.1 billion plastic bottles were disposed of in 2003 Plastic bottle recycling schemes currently operate in 295 local authority areas 1 tonne = 20,000 plastic bottles 25,000 tonnes of bottles recycled in the UK in 2003 saved approximately 25 million kWh of energy. Three quarters of all plastic bottles recycled are collected from kerbsides There are approx 5,000 bottles in a typical bale The majority of plastic bottles are made from PET or HDPE Recycling a single plastic bottle can conserve enough energy to light a 60W lightbulb for up to 6 hours The average sales value of sorted baled bottles (PET & HDPE) over the last 5 year period has been £123/tonne. 330,608 tonnes of plastics packaging waste were recycled in 2002 (DEFRA) 11% of household waste is plastic, 40% of which is plastic bottles that are disposed of at a cost of £45 million Reprocessor demand for plastics outstrips supply 3 times over High performing kerbside collection schemes typically generate 5-10kg plastic bottles per household per year 25 recycled PET bottles can be used to make an adult’s fleece jacket Up to 40% less fuel is used to transport drinks in plastic bottles compared to glass bottles Plastic packaging uses only around 4% of all crude oil produced