11 Oct 2019 14:18
Biffa calls for ban on the export of waste plastics
·; Leading UK recycler and waste management provider Biffa says all plastics should be recycled in the UK to restore public confidence in recycling and to boost domestic jobs and investment.
·; Biffa calls for the phasing out of problem plastics and making necessary packaging as recyclable as possible with a focus on closed loop recycling. Well-intended 'compostable plastics' are not recyclable, adding to consumer confusion and causing problems for materials that actually are recyclable.
·; Make recycling easier. If recycling is made difficult, it is less likely that people will do it. It needs to be made easier through clear unambiguous labelling and more consistent recycling collections.
11 October, 2019: Biffa says in a report released today that there should be a ban on the export of waste plastics as part of a drive for all plastics to be recycled within the UK. The move would retain the material as a resource, generate UK investment and jobs and avoid unintended environmental problems in other countries.
The demonisation of all plastic is also resulting in unintended consequences for UK recycling, which have the potential to make the UK's plastic problem worse. The report highlights the need for clearer differentiation between 'good plastics' which are easily recyclable versus 'bad plastics' such as unnecessary single-use plastic and difficult to recycle plastics.
Biffa argues that short-term publicity exercises culminating in the rise of alternative materials including 'compostable' plastics, 'bio-plastics' and plastic pouches are giving consumers false confidence that they are choosing recyclable items, when these materials are generally more environmentally harmful and are contaminating high-quality recycling.
The Group is calling for simplification in plastic packaging materials with a focus on closed-loop recycling investment to ensure that where plastic packaging is necessary, it is developed to be as recyclable as possible into its original form or for other materials.
The report also recommends that simpler and clearer labelling be backed by improved measures to make recycling collections more consistent across the UK.
Michael Topham, Chief Executive of Biffa commented:
"Everyone is rightly concerned about our dependence on plastics and on how we deal with our plastic waste. The time has come for decisive action to ensure we only use plastics in a sustainable manner, and to restore confidence in our waste and recycling systems. Biffa is today calling for a total ban on the export of unprocessed plastic waste. This will not only ensure our plastic waste is
dealt with properly here in the UK but will also support investment and jobs, and provide vital raw materials for the UK circular economy. At the same time, we must phase out plastics that cannot be recycled, and deliver labelling and collection systems that are easy to understand and work for households and businesses."
The report includes the following key recommendations:
1. Stop exporting waste plastics. Global markets cannot always be relied on to deliver the environmental standards now demanded through heightened public concern and new political environmental ambition. We can, and should, aim to recycle all plastics within the UK.
2. Phase out problem plastics. Single use plastics and difficult to recycle plastic composites such as black plastic food trays and compostable plastics have to go. Where plastic packaging is necessary, it should be as recyclable as possible to reduce the carbon impacts from virgin plastic production. There should also be higher compliance fees for producers of non-recyclable or difficult to recycle plastic packaging.
3. Make recycling easier. If recycling is made difficult, it is less likely that people will do it. It needs to be made easier through a simplification of the array of plastics, clear unambiguous labelling and more consistent recycling collections.
With over 3.9 million collections per week from 2.2 million households and 2.3 million tonnes collected from businesses per annum, Biffa is at the forefront of recycling in the UK.
The Group has been one of the leaders in closed-loop recycling innovation in the UK having worked closely with the UK Dairy roadmap to re-design the milk bottle to be fully recyclable. Biffa Polymers processes approximately 900 million milk bottles per year and today 80% of milk bottles in the UK contain 40% of plastic from Biffa.
The report also calls for greater policy support for UK recycling, including mandatory business waste recycling collections, a tax on plastic packaging and an urgent review of the current producer responsibility (PRN) system which Biffa argues will all be vital long-term drivers for truly effective recycling reform.
-ENDS-
For more information and for media enquiries please contact:
Houston
T: 020 3701 7660
E: biffa@houston.co.uk
About Biffa
Biffa is the UK's leading sustainable waste management business. We have over 8,000 employees working across more than 200 sites to change the way people think about waste. We operate across the waste management value chain, including the collection, treatment, processing and disposal of waste, as well as the production and sale of recovered commodities such as energy, paper, glass, metals and plastic. We are first choice for customers, with our national customer base including local authorities, large corporates and SMEs, and purchasers of end-product commodities and energy. We are structured in to two divisions: Collections and Resources & Energy. In FY19, the Group's total revenue was £1,091.2m and its Underlying EBITDA was £150.7m. Biffa has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since in October 2016 under the ticker "BIFF".
For more information visit www.biffa.co.uk
Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view the associated PDF document.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/6677P_1-2019-10-11.pdf