Plastics recycling specialist MBA Polymers (Worksop / UK; www.mbapolymers.co.uk) has called on the UK government to suspend VAT (value added tax) on recycled plastics to stimulate demand and encourage investment in the UK’s plastics recycling industry. The call was made in Westminster at an event entitled “The future of recycling – the challenge for plastics” attended by around 100 politicians, environmental groups and major plastics users and held in February 2013.

MBA Polymers chief executive, Nigel Hunton, said, “Plastics recycling is a big opportunity for ‘UK plc’. We currently lie behind leading European countries in terms of the recycling rates of post-consumer plastic waste and in 2011 the UK performance was just over 20%. Sweden, Norway, Germany and France were all above us... The UK can become a world leader in this sector, but we can only do that by changing some of our approach. We need something to incentivise the market with legislation designed to encourage post-consumer recycled plastics content in new products, such as exemption or a reduced rate of VAT.”

MBA operates what is claimed to be the world’s largest and most advanced recycling facility for post-consumer plastics, in Worksop, Nottinghamshire / UK. The plant started production at the end of 2010 (see Plasteurope.com of 31.01.2011), representing an investment of around GBP 30m and employing around 100 staff.