Is recycling plastics worth it?

It can be frustrating to see that, despite our efforts, our recycling can be dealt with in a way that is bad for the environment. It can make recycling feel hopeless and cause confusion about the best way to act as citizens.

The good news is that more often than not, our recycling is dealt with properly, and there is hope for our recycling. This article explores the recycling system and reasons we should be positive about the future of our recycling.

By recycling plastic, we are giving the material the best chance to have a new life, keeping it in use and out of the environment. Recycling reduces the need for new plastic made from raw materials, saving energy and carbon in the process. It takes 75% less energy to make a plastic bottle using recycled plastic compared to newly made plastic. And remember, sometimes plastic can be the most sustainable packaging choice (read more from our sister brand, Clear on Plastics, here), so it’s not always in the environment’s best interest to remove it from our lives completely.

To put it simply – recycling is the best option when it comes to disposing of our plastics (where reuse and refill is not an option); giving the material the best chance of a new life rather than going to landfill or being burned for energy.

To see how we can improve our recycling system, it helps to first understand where our plastic recycling is sent and how it is tracked and measured.

The UK is currently sending most of our recycled plastic packaging overseas, where it is turned into new products. Historically there has been more demand for our recycling from foreign countries, where it’s cheaper to process. Some countries we have previously sent our recycling to, such as China, have heavily restricted what materials they will accept, to make sure that they are not taking in plastics that are contaminated and of poor quality (e.g. dirty or including items that cannot be recycled).

The recycling industry is regulated, which means that rules are in place to prevent illegal shipments of waste from being sent abroad, where there is a bigger risk of it being dumped. However, in a small number of cases rogue traders commit this crime and/or the recycling is not sorted to a good enough quality. The Environment Agency is responsible for enforcing the rules and this involves checks of some shipments before they are sent overseas. Last year 1,889[1] shipping containers were inspected by the Environment Agency and harsh fines were issued to companies that were found to have broken the rules.

It’s clear that the recycling system is not perfect, and that some recycling is slipping through the net – however, there are positive moves happening to make the recycling system better for the future.

At Recycle Now, and our parent brand WRAP, we are often asked how much plastic packaging is recycled and what is counted as ‘recycling’.

Recycling companies report on the amount of sorted plastic that enters their recycling facilities, for example the weight of plastic bottles. When it comes to measuring exported plastics, it is the total amount that is sent abroad. It is these numbers of ‘input’ material into a recycling process that is counted as recycling.

However, whether the material is processed in the UK or abroad, some material is usually lost in the system. For example, the labels around plastic bottles are unlikely to be recycled.

While measuring the ‘output’ from a recycling process would be a better way to measure the weight of our recycling, it is more difficult, especially when material is sent abroad.

Another important thing to consider when we are measuring recycling is how much plastic is used in the first place, since we are measuring the recycling as a part of this. Larger companies responsible for plastic packaging are required to share information and data about the amount of plastic they produce, and this is added to estimates for plastic use from smaller companies.

Making our recycling easier to track and measure is a key part of improving the recycling system, as we explore next…

Firstly, in the UK we need to reduce our reliance on sending our plastic recycling abroad and invest in recycling in this country. This will make it easier to track and monitor the recycling process and reduce the possibility of our recycling being dealt with irresponsibly, as well as being better for our economy. UK governments are putting policies in place to improve recycling systems:

But many of these policies are a few years away from implementation, and the plastic problem is now. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for these policies to come into place, and many businesses are already making changes. The UK Plastics Pact is a world-first initiative run by WRAP which involves many businesses working together towards targets to eliminate unnecessary plastic, introduce refillable options, and ensure plastic packaging is recycled. Find out more about The UK Plastics Pact.

Reducing the amount of non-recyclable items in our recycling (contamination) is important, as this means that the materials sent for recycling are of better quality for recycling and stand the best chance of being turned into new items. WRAP is working closely with companies to ensure recycling labelling is clear and understandable, and we at Recycle Now are working to make it easier for everybody to recycle more things, more often, in the right way. In summary, lots of moves are being made across the industry to improve the recycling infrastructure, monitor our recycling to ensure it is dealt with in the right way, and make recycling easier for people at home. Change won’t happen overnight, but we are heading in the right direction, and WRAP is committed to bringing about real, sustainable action to make our recycling worth it.

Getting our recycling right is one way we can all make a difference. By only putting the items that your council wants for recycling into your recycling bin and by reducing the amount of ‘contaminants’, i.e., non-recyclable products in our recycling, it stands a better chance of being recycled properly. We have a handy Recycling Locator where you can enter your postcode to get the right information for your area.