Clearly the argument between kerb-separation and co-mingled household collections needs to move on. As a plastics reprocessor, we’d love to see separate kerb- side sorting as being the best mechanism to achieve a high quality of potential feedstock / raw material for our own processes.  As we’ve mentioned in this blog on many occasions we struggle to use material from MRFs in the UK as they are such low quality and have high levels of contamination.  The result of this is that we can typically only use these feed stocks for low quality products of our own – hardly a means to retain the inherent value of the material!

As consumers (and householders) ourselves we can understand the view that households are only willing to do so much in their recycling efforts and the one bin approach may help maximise collection rates.  However, if this is to be the preferred collection route for recycling within the UK market, then it must follow that we have efficient and effective downstream separation facilities at MRF’s otherwise we will simply lose the value and utility of the materials that are being collected and their use will either require sophisticated and expensive additional sorting or, low value applications.

Finally, we are starting to see evidence that MRF’s want to increase product quality from their separation units and we really hope that this trend will start to gain momentum.  We also need to come back and look at PRNs again (and especially PERNs) – but that’s for another day!

Market changes last year caused numerous issues with respect to both the availability and price of good quality plastics feedstock that we can use to make products.  As we’ve touched on here many times you can’t ‘make a silk purse out of sow’s ear’ and its important to be able to source materials which are both reasonable in quality and at a price that allows us to make products our customers want to buy.  Regretfully last year we (and apparently many others) were finding it very difficult to square this circle as more material seemed to be destined for export, quality seemed to be going down and prices were on a continual upward spiral.

Many people have started talking about plastics reycling facilities (sometimes shortened to ‘PRFs’) and if ‘commingled’ material is the way that the UK market wants to move forward, then there will almost certainly be a need to find a way to either, seek better quality from the source (eg the MRFs and similar), or alternatively develop an additional process which aims to further improve the quality of incoming materials.   Centriforce have decided that we’ll develop some additional capability to be able to provide some improved sorting and hence the investment in a PRF.

New sorting line for plastics film

Now just starting to be operational, this will provide Centriforce with the ability to source a wider spectrum of plastics waste materials and convert this into quality second-use materials.   We’re always interested in hearing from people who have a source of plastics waste (predominantly polyethylene or polypropylene).

Initially stemming from an innovation meeting between the partners to explore how they could work closer together and meet the objectives of all the organisations, this initiative ticks all the boxes.  Its sensible economically by keeping the value of the waste stream, its sensible environmentally by utilising a high quality waste stream and turning it back into usable, second-life products and….its just makes sense.

The system works by BBUSL collating its waste material at its depots or sites up and down the country.  V10 Polymers houses a skip at each main site and at a pre-determined frequency arranges to collect the skip and take it back to its Blackburn facility for sorting, cleaning and granulation. Centriforce, then plays its part by taking the usable waste stream and turning it into a second life product, in this case, underground cable protection covers which BBUSL then can buy back and utilise for new installation and repair work that it undertakes on behalf of major utility client companies.

V10 Polymers uplift plastic waste for recycling

Centriforce will actively try to develop closed loop solutions with major clients since they make sense environmentally and helps our client companies meet their corporate social responsibility objectives.  A win, win, win solution.

If you know of a company that generates large quantities of waste plastic which it wants to find both an outlet for, and perhaps an application, then drop us a phone call to explore further.  We’ve demonstrated in this example we have the means to make it work and would be delighted to hear from other companies with similar ambitions.

Is recycling ambitions pie in the sky?

Well,having just returned from the long Christmas/New Year break what awaits us in 2012?

I had the opportunity to visit a local MRF (materials recycling facility) just before Christmas as they were just about to gear up to one of their busiest times of years.  They were expecting a 1/3 increase (!) in their throughput over the holiday period and in the immediate weeks of the new year – perhaps a very poignant reminded of our ‘throwaway society’?

However, just before the holiday break, DEFRA published its packaging recycling targets for the 5 year period 2013 – 2017 which seemed to have been warmly received by the industry as ‘solid green ambition’ (perhaps at last).   On plastics packaging, DEFRA is looking to raise recycling targets from the current level of around 32% to around 57% by 2017 and with every tonne of recycled plastic roughly saving 1.5 metric tonnes of carbon, this not only translates into a requirement for reduced landfill, but also a very worthwhile saving in our carbon footprint.

Its perhaps frightening to think that recent forecasts suggest that by 2020, England will only have around 55 non-hazardous landfill sites operating across the country – a remarkable drop from the ~250 sites that are currently in operation.  However this, combined with our ‘green ambitions’ is yet further impetus to really develop the recycling industry and dramatically reduce the amount of material that we in the UK  send to landfill or export to the far east.

Centriforce Products will be playing its part in helping this.   We are already the UK’s largest independent recycler of plastics materials and we will shortly be announcing further investment to increase and improve our capabilities in our Liverpool  recycling and manufacturing site. We’ll be looking forward to telling you more about this shortly.

In the meantime, if you have a project that is looking for recycled materials in either sheet or profile form, then make Centriforce one of the first phone calls you make.

With the world’s population now around the ~6 billion mark, the report makes sobering reading. Some headlines which keep recurring are that:

• 3 billion more middle class consumers expected to be in the global economy by 2030
• 147% increase in real  commodity prices since the turn of the last century (yes in the last ~11 years alone)

Of course , we’re all now aware that the emerging BRIC economies are developing fast, leading to rapid and very significant uptakes in raw materials.  Plus, this new wealth in the developing economies of India and China creates an ever increasing indigenous demand for more and more resources.

So what’s this got to do with recycling plastics then?  As well as being some useful macro-economic pointers as to the way the world is likely to develop, its a useful reminder that it is necessary to make the best use of what we have already…therefore that often used mantra of,  reduce, reuse, recycle once again comes to the fore.

Its clear with what we see immediately around us that we must make best use of our existing resources and of course that includes recycling materials that can be used again and of course the efficient use of energy to make the materials in the first place. Often this gets captured in carbon foot-printing, but the utilisation of recycled materials can be 10x more efficient that the use of virgin materials.  Its also clear from this report that we’re going to see ever increasing prices for commodities whether its materials or energy and hence there is clearly a strong economic argument for recycling plastics (and other materials of course).

Simples…!

The headline has been that we are definitely making progress in the UK with recycling and each year shows improvements in recycling rates from both industry and domestic collections.  The old expression of, “where there’s muck there’s brass” has also transferred into recycling of plastics since prices of waste plastics has steadily risen during the year which must have helped producers and councils to realise that its worth spending more effort to collect and sort waste materials – since they have value!

On that theme of value, it’s been interesting to note in the UK household collection survey  that over 76% of HDPE milk bottles consumed and collected in the UK during 2010 were recycled, a 5% jump from the last survey in 2008.  This is probably a combination of a number of factors including:

• a continued rise in the growth of kerbside collections
• a material that is relatively easy to sort post collection (in MRFs)
• value.

HDPE milk bottles are proving to be extremely valuable since they are a good, clean source of high quality HDPE which can be widely (re)used in vast number of secondary applications.

HDPE milk bottles

So why then do we export so much of our waste materials -since effectively we’re exporting the value to other countries?    Yes, its easy to do and clearly waste collection companies are able to move large quantities of partially sorted waste materials into export, but as has been repeatedly reported this week, we need to use as much as possible of this material within the UK itself.   This requires, continued improvements in collection, a desire to add value by separating the waste in value streams and a local demand to drive developments and investment in green jobs.

We’re gradually moving from seeing waste materials as a problem to be resolved quickly to a resource that can be used locally.  Have a look through the Centriforce website to look at real recycling in action and see what can be done with waste plastics materials.

recycled plastic walkway with surface detail

Two of the main uses for recycled plastics are making plastic profiles and plastic walkways. Recycling of plastic has been going on for many years but lately it has been in the news because of the numbers of plastic bags used by consumers and provided free at many supermarkets. Many people have switched to the ‘bags for life’, because of fears for the environment. However all is not lost if you have to use a plastic bag. Most of these bags can be used again at the end of their useful life and recycled back into new products.

So what are plastic profiles and plastic walkways used for? Plastic profiles are a viable alternative to using timber and almost anything which can be made out of natural wood can be made from recycled plastic profiles. This means that valuable natural resources like wood need not be used for fencing or garden furniture. In fact, plastic profiles are extremely hard wearing and need not be treated with chemicals to prevent rotting, making them surprisingly environmentally friendly. Fencing made from plastic profiles doesn’t require painting, and needs a lot less maintenance than a timber fence. When you see these fences it is hard to believe that one of the major sources for the recycled plastic is the everyday supermarket plastic bag or plastic bottles so often seen as litter on our streets.

Plastic walkways are far more common than you might think, having been around for over twenty years. In fact you may have probably already walked on one. They are commonly used in nature reserves and conservation areas, especially if the area is wet, as they are much more resistant to the effects of water than traditional timber walkways. They are also much less slippery. This has led to them being installed in town centres as they are especially suitable for pedestrian and disabled access. However, you probably don’tt realise that you are walking on recycled plastic bottles and other recycled materials as plastic walkways are manufactured to be visually in keeping with their (new) surroundings. They have been popular for installation in nature and bird reserves as they are very cost effective meaning that precious resources for nature can be spent elsewhere while these plastic walkways continue to do their job, maintenance free for many years.

Recycling is a good  solution for the problem of build up of non biodegradable plastics. Plastic bags and bottles should not be littering our countryside and causing damage to the habitat. The properties which make plastics such a problem are also the properties which can make them so useful when recycled. Resistant to rot, no need to maintain with paint and chemicals, easy to install and long lasting, these properties are invaluable for plastic profiles and plastic walkways.

Carlshead Farm is not only a busy working farm but also hosts an innovative educational project where students can spend some time and pick up a range of experiences and skills.

One area that has been developed was a low lying pond that was also home to some very soft ground which made it difficult to access – especially with young children.   The pond is being used for educational visits by younger children who get the opportunity to explore the range of wildlife prevalent in the water and the surrounding area.  A 30m recycled plastic walkway was installed to provide safe and secure access to the pond together with a recycled plastic pond dipping platform and a 6m recycled plastic bridge which provides access to a field that grows biomass for a nearby power station.

Using recycled plastic profiles instead of wood provided a more durable and maintenance-free solution that was also more practical to design and build. Unlike the wooden alternative, Centriforce recycled planks have a slip-resistant and splinter-free surface, and don’t need to be fixed with chicken wire or nails.  So the children have a safe platform to walk, or even to lie on to investigate wildlife habitats.

The project has now been installed for well over 18 months and is proving to be not only very successful with users, but also coming into its own since it now neatly blends into the the very beautiful surroundings and is living up to the promise of being a highly durable solution.

a view of the pond dipping platform at Carlshead Farm

This was a great project to be involved with and we’re delighted that everyone is extremely pleased with the outcome.  Further details are available from Centriforce.

It was our first time at this show and we were very pleased with the response to our recently introduced GroundMate access mats for ground protection.  Attendees at this show tend to be the organisers of the multitude of outdoor exhibitions and country shows that take place up and down the country – largely over the spring and summer months.

Unfortunately, its  necessary for outdoor exhibition and show organisers to ensure that they have adequate provision for ground protection to take the influx of light, medium and heavy vehicles that typically will attend such a show.  In the UK climate, rain can appear at any time and turn otherwise firm and dry ground into very boggy conditions in no time at all.  GroundMate access mats are ideal for such applications since they are extremely durable being made from recycled plastics and probably the most cost-efficient ground protection solution currently available in the UK.

Initial feedback from users is very encouraging and the access mats are already finding wide use in a range of applications from construction to outdoor events – even to private use.   So not only do you get a very effective and cost-efficient ground protection solution, but you are also helping  the UK economy make use of recycled plastics that would otherwise end up in landfill.  A true win-win solution!

As we’ve mentioned previously in this blog, we’ve historically found it very difficult to recycle ‘post consumer’ plastics waste owing to the level of contamination often found in such streams.  However technology and methods are starting to improve – combined with a strong willingness to do something about this.  WRAP acknowledges that over a million tonnes of plastic packaging end up in landfill each year, owing to the difficulty of collecting and recycling waste films – and in particular the problems of sorting black plastics that are well documented.

Many solutions seem to come from collaborative efforts and in this case the project revolved around a collaboration with Sainsburys  and Co-Op supermarkets combined with Axion Recycling.  Within this project, we were able to demonstrate that it is possible to produce a reasonable quality feedstock from which recycled products can be produced and we have taken some ideas and suggestions of possible product opportunities to both supermarkets.

Clearly there are still barriers to overcome, but householders largely do want to do the ‘right thing’  and make maximum use of the resources available to us.  Governement, and local government in particular needs to lead the way on this.

More details of this project can be found on WRAPs website.