VEOLIA UK
Praise of huge drop in waste carrier bags one year after charge introduced / Plans to roll out Bag2Bag scheme into other areas / Call to recycle more plastic bottles
 Veolia said the number of bags collected for recycling has fallen by 75% since the levy was introduced (Photo: Veolia) |
As the UK celebrates its first anniversary since introducing a 5p charge for plastic carrier bags, a director of major recycling company Veolia UK (London / UK; www.veolia.co.uk) has applauded the huge drop in waste carrier bags. Richard Kirkman, technical director at Veolia UK and Ireland, said the number of plastic bags collected by the company had fallen from an estimated 170m to 40m in just 365 days – a huge reduction of 75%.
He noted that the change in behaviour is equally as important as the reduction in bags as it shows that people are not only thinking about being more environmentally conscious but are acting that way, too. He urged people to keep up the momentum so that further reductions would be seen on the second anniversary.
Veolia is converting the carrier bags it collects into new refuse sacks. Kirkman said that through its Bag2Bag scheme, launched in the London borough of Southwark, the company recycles the low density film back into single-use refuse sacks, which are then distributed to local residents. “We are hoping to roll it out to other local authorities because if this was translated across the country we would save about 6.2 bn bags. This is equal to 15,000 t of material and 15,000 t of carbon emissions, helping out in the battle against climate change,” he noted.
However, Kirkman believes that carrier bags are “just the tip of the iceberg”. He said: “Currently we only receive 50% of all plastic bottles but if we were to get them all this would save approximately 300,000 t of materials, which is 300,000 t of carbon.”
In July this year, Veolia took over the Dagenham facility of former milk bottle recycler Euro Closed Loop Recycling, which went into administration in May – see Plasteurope.com of 12.07.2016. Kirkman said the plant is able to regenerate all the plastic milk bottles in London into food-grade pellets to make new bottles. He commented: “This is a huge step in the right direction and will double the UK’s recovery capabilities of high density plastic recycling. By reusing plastic, Veolia is closing the loop on a valuable resource and makes it possible to avoid pollution that is difficult to eliminate.”
He noted that the change in behaviour is equally as important as the reduction in bags as it shows that people are not only thinking about being more environmentally conscious but are acting that way, too. He urged people to keep up the momentum so that further reductions would be seen on the second anniversary.
Veolia is converting the carrier bags it collects into new refuse sacks. Kirkman said that through its Bag2Bag scheme, launched in the London borough of Southwark, the company recycles the low density film back into single-use refuse sacks, which are then distributed to local residents. “We are hoping to roll it out to other local authorities because if this was translated across the country we would save about 6.2 bn bags. This is equal to 15,000 t of material and 15,000 t of carbon emissions, helping out in the battle against climate change,” he noted.
However, Kirkman believes that carrier bags are “just the tip of the iceberg”. He said: “Currently we only receive 50% of all plastic bottles but if we were to get them all this would save approximately 300,000 t of materials, which is 300,000 t of carbon.”
In July this year, Veolia took over the Dagenham facility of former milk bottle recycler Euro Closed Loop Recycling, which went into administration in May – see Plasteurope.com of 12.07.2016. Kirkman said the plant is able to regenerate all the plastic milk bottles in London into food-grade pellets to make new bottles. He commented: “This is a huge step in the right direction and will double the UK’s recovery capabilities of high density plastic recycling. By reusing plastic, Veolia is closing the loop on a valuable resource and makes it possible to avoid pollution that is difficult to eliminate.”
07.11.2016 Plasteurope.com [235456-0]
Published on 07.11.2016