Almost three-quarters of HDPE milk bottles consumed and collected in the UK in 2009 were recycled, according to research published by bottle manufacturer Nampak Plastics (Newport Pagnell / UK; www.eu.nampak.com/plastics). The study was carried out as part of the “Household Plastics Packaging Collection Survey 2010” by plastics recycling organisation Recoup (Peterborough / UK; www.recoup.org). It found that 72% of HDPE milk bottles were recycled in 2009, a significant increase on the 57% recorded in 2008. An estimated 119,000 t of HDPE went into UK milk bottle production in 2009, of which 86,790 t was collected for recycling. This, Nampak says, reflects the growth in kerbside collections, which now account for four out of five of every bottle collected for recycling.

Nampak was the first company to use recycled HDPE for milk bottle production (see Plasteurope.com of 12.06.2008) and its business development director James Crick said the survey is great news for the dairy industry. “All the milk bottles we manufacture in the UK now contain up to 10% rHDPE, and we are currently planning with our customers to move to 15% in October 2010,” he added – for more coverage, see Plasteurope.com of 21.01.2010. In the longer term, Crick said, Nampak believes it can increase the recycled content to 50% by 2020.