RECYCLING UK
Veolia UK opens Dagenham recycling facility / YouGov poll highlights disparity in UK consumers' recycling behaviour / Call for more on-the-go facilities and better information
As recycling company Veolia UK (London; www.veolia.co.uk) officially opens a new facility in Dagenham / UK (formerly owned by Euro Closed Loop Recycling – see Plasteurope.com of 12.07.2016), it has released findings from a YouGov (London; www.yougov.co.uk) survey that reveals a significant gap in the country’s plastics recycling efforts. The findings show that just 20% of British adults “always” recycle on-the-go compared to 75% “always” recycling at home. The research suggests that the disparity is linked to people’s inability to find convenient recycling facilities outside of the home.
Responding to the poll, 88% of consumers said more convenient recycling facilities on-the-go (for example, in the street or in shopping centres) would encourage them to recycle more outside their homes. A call for clearer messaging on bins to say what can and cannot be recycled was requested by 87% of the survey’s respondents, while 84% asked for the recycling process to become more straightforward.
Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive vice president of Veolia UK & Ireland, said this on-the-go gap is concerning as the UK is still failing to capture 44% of the plastic bottles used. Stuart Foster, CEO of plastics recycling charity Recoup (Peterborough / UK; www.recoup.org), added that this is another clear message from consumers that convenience and straightforward consistent guidance will help everyone to engage more effectively with their local plastic recycling schemes.
YouGov’s findings also reveal that almost one in three (28%) of respondents are unclear about what can be recycled. There is confusion about certain items such as ready meal packaging, which is challenging to recycle and film, which cannot be recycled, yet 48% and 21%, respectively, believe both can be recycled.
Veolia said the UK uses more than 5m t of plastic each year, of which only 1.4m t – or 29% – is estimated to be recovered or recycled. To highlight the issue of recycling and the fact that more than 8m t of plastic is being dumped in the world’s oceans every year, Veolia has unveiled a sculpture of a great white shark, which it has named Bruce, the Great White Shark of Dagenham. More than 400 plastic milk bottles were used to create the three-metre long shark, and parts of Bruce’s denticles are also made of HDPE, from milk bottles recycled at Dagenham.
Responding to the poll, 88% of consumers said more convenient recycling facilities on-the-go (for example, in the street or in shopping centres) would encourage them to recycle more outside their homes. A call for clearer messaging on bins to say what can and cannot be recycled was requested by 87% of the survey’s respondents, while 84% asked for the recycling process to become more straightforward.
Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive vice president of Veolia UK & Ireland, said this on-the-go gap is concerning as the UK is still failing to capture 44% of the plastic bottles used. Stuart Foster, CEO of plastics recycling charity Recoup (Peterborough / UK; www.recoup.org), added that this is another clear message from consumers that convenience and straightforward consistent guidance will help everyone to engage more effectively with their local plastic recycling schemes.
YouGov’s findings also reveal that almost one in three (28%) of respondents are unclear about what can be recycled. There is confusion about certain items such as ready meal packaging, which is challenging to recycle and film, which cannot be recycled, yet 48% and 21%, respectively, believe both can be recycled.
Veolia said the UK uses more than 5m t of plastic each year, of which only 1.4m t – or 29% – is estimated to be recovered or recycled. To highlight the issue of recycling and the fact that more than 8m t of plastic is being dumped in the world’s oceans every year, Veolia has unveiled a sculpture of a great white shark, which it has named Bruce, the Great White Shark of Dagenham. More than 400 plastic milk bottles were used to create the three-metre long shark, and parts of Bruce’s denticles are also made of HDPE, from milk bottles recycled at Dagenham.
03.10.2017 Plasteurope.com [237998-0]
Published on 03.10.2017