Research indicates potential for plastics recycling << Back to Main News Page Added: Wednesday, 8 October 2003 Two new reports have recently been published indicating the potential for further development of plastics recycling, and the use of recycled material, in the UK. Waste Watch, in association with Recoup and Valuplast, has produced a guide to polymer use and recycling, including information on the consumption, recycling and export of plastics in the UK. The report, entitled Plastics in the UK Economy, calls for stakeholders to focus on adding plastic bottle collections to integrated, multi-material kerbside collections; providing more recycling-oriented waste collection services for businesses in the SME sector and investing in technologies to source useable plastics from post-shredder residue. It argues that these are the most important targets for new research and investment to increase 'value for money' plastics recycling. For a copy of the Waste Watch study visit http://www.wasteonline.org.uk and click on Plastics in the UK Economy in the Recent Additions box. In addition, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has released a report entitled Survey of Applications, Markets and Growth Opportunities for Recycled Plastics in the UK, indicating that an additional 14,500 tonnes of waste plastics could be recycled each year for the next 2-5 years. The research, carried out by Enviros Consulting, found that post-consumer plastic bottles made from PET and HDPE offers the greatest potential for long-term growth. To download a copy of the WRAP report visit http://www.wrap.org.uk/reports.asp