Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
News
April 13, 2015 02:00 AM

UK groups out to secure bottle recycling business

Domenic Donatantonio
PRW
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Closed Loop
    Closed Loop, a British recycler of PET and HDPE bottles, says it is struggling to maintain its base.

    The United Kingdom non-profit Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is hosting a meeting this week with leading figures in the supermarket supply chain to look at balancing the market for recycled high density polyethylene and help stricken recycling firm Closed Loop.

    Hit by the double blow of low oil prices and a supermarket price war, Britain's biggest recycler of plastic milk bottles is facing possible collapse.

    The Dagenham, England-based firm has warned it could be forced to call in administrators because clients have cut back on buying recycled plastic.

    PRW has been told by Closed Loop and WRAP that a meeting will take place this week with retailers and the supply chain to address the problem.

    WRAP CEO Liz Goodwin said: “The contribution that a thriving and vibrant plastics recycling industry can make to both overall resource efficiency within the U.K. and the economy in general, is considerable. At the same time, recycled plastics are commodities that tend to track the prices of their virgin equivalents. Right now, the low oil price means that virgin plastic prices are low.

    “This problem is currently being made worse for the HDPE market by the high prices for recovered plastic HDPE bottles in Europe — the feedstock for some of these plastic recycling plants.  This is a result of temporary supply disruptions in the U.S., causing Asia to look to Europe for its recovered plastic bottles.

    “This means that some of our pioneering food grade plastic HDPE recycling plants in the U.K. are facing highly squeezed margins at the moment with high input material prices and low finished product prices. To be viable they need to sell recycled food grade plastic HDPE at a higher price than virgin plastic.

    “WRAP is talking to the industry about this.” 

    Through the WRAP-led Courtauld Commitment, leading retailers, manufacturers and suppliers have voluntarily signed up to reduce waste within the U.K. grocery sector.

    Goodwin added: “Right now, buying virgin HDPE for milk bottles might seem the better buy, but it is not a long term approach.  Commodity prices go up and down. Recycled food grade HDPE will be a good buy again but if we don't stick with it now, there won't be any to buy in the U.K., and that would be a real loss for us all. Having our own supply of these key raw materials offers a level of resilience which will become increasingly important in this increasingly unstable world.

    “To make this happen, we need the whole supply chain to come together, to look at where the risks lie and to look at how best to share those risks so all can benefit. Industry might need to pay a premium for high quality food grade recycled plastics so that it can honor the important commitments it has made.  However, in the context of falling plastic prices overall, this should be affordable.”

    Closed Loop

    Closed Loop CEO Chris Dow says the company is the "most vulnerable" part of the recycling production chain.

    Closed Loop chief executive Chris Dow said: “We know that there is a solution on the table that will stabilize the market and long term sustainability of recycled HDPE.

    “This will also ensure the future of our plant and provide a profitable business model for future investors. We are the most vulnerable part of the supply chain, yet are shouldering all of the risk.”

    Meanwhile, The British Plastics Federation's Recycling Group (BPFRG) has reiterated its claim that the packaging recovering note (PRN) system needs urgent reform before more U.K. recyclers become victims of the current market failure affecting members such as Closed Loop. 

    Reductions in oil and commodity polymer prices coupled with strong demand from global low cost economies for waste plastics have undermined confidence in the U.K. plastics recycling industry putting jobs and economic security at risk.

    The British recycling group believes that the current situation could have been avoided had the government taken decisive action and implemented the proposals it published last year in its manifesto. The proposals focused on identifying drivers to achieve a sustainable future for the plastics recycling sector by introducing two fundamental changes in the PRN system.

    The first is a split on the plastics packaging recycling targets, to distinguish recycling in the local market (U.K, and EU) from that which is exported outside Europe. This would be achieved through the existing PRN/PERN mechanism, leading to a progressive weighting towards increased local recycling year-on-year. Not only could this deliver the best environmental outcomes, but it would also encourage and incentivize innovation and investment – enabling the UK to future-proof markets for plastic waste.

    The second relates to an ‘offset' proposal, which calls for a modification to the producer responsibility framework to encourage retailers and brand owners to increase the use of recycled polymers. 

    Roger Baynham, chairman of the BPFRG, said: “We have effectively reached a fork in the road. Do nothing, accept that the U.K, recycling sector will struggle to compete with global low cost economies and become increasingly dependent on such markets for our waste or implement changes which can deliver successful and investable long term recycling businesses which create green UK jobs as part of a sustainable circular economy. Events at Closed Loop show that this is a decision which can no longer be ducked.”

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Tennessee-based insulation maker adding equipment, jobs
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    An 8,000-ton dream for Milacron, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics
    2
    US Merchants opens curtain on growing injection molding operations
    3
    Report: Tekni-Plex may be for sale
    4
    Rising costs prompt delay in Corpus Christi PET plant construction
    5
    Plastics processors face automation needs, sustainability demands
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified