Page 41 from: January / February 2008
especially given the high value of recovered poly-
mers relative to other dry recyclables.’ The report
offers the following typical prices of recovered plas-
tic bottles as at November 2007: clear PET £110-
150 per tonne; coloured PET £60-90; natural HDPE
£210-230; mixed colour HDPE £140-180; and mixed
polymer bottles £85-110.
Staying with price, the report warns: ‘Significant
expansions in petrochemical capacity are expected
in the Middle East in the next few years. A sharp
increase in supply could temper virgin polymer
prices, even if crude oil prices remain strong. If
prices for recovered plastics were also to fall, this
could reduce commercial incentives to further
increase plastics recovery.’
The co-authors of the report also note that regu-
latory drivers have prompted increases in UK
recovery of certain non-packaging plastics. For
example, it is estimated that, of the 200 000 tonnes
of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) plastics contributed to
the waste stream each year, some 35 000 tonnes are
recovered comprising 70-80% polyolefins. For plas-
tics contained in waste from electrical and electron-
ic equipment (WEEE), recovery operations mop up
some 75 000 tonnes of the estimated 250 000 tonnes
discarded each year.
For more information about ‘Realising the value of
recovered plastics’, visit:
www.wrap.org.uk/marketreports
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Recycling statistics
Recycling International’s recent subscriber survey revealed that a signif-
icant proportion of the readership would like to see more articles about plas-
tics recycling. And while there is undoubtedly much to write about, there is
also a limitation that does not apply to many of the other mainstream recy-
clables, namely a regular flow of international statistics.
We reported in our October 2007 issue on an analysis of plastics produc-
tion, demand, recovery and recycling published earlier in the year by
PlasticsEurope, the association of plastics manufacturers. ‘The compelling
facts about plastics’ reviewed key 2005 statistics for the 25 states that made
up the EU at that time, plus Norway and Switzerland. A similarly compre-
hensive document – containing key statistics for 2006 – was scheduled for
public launch at some point in January 2008.
However, regular, statistics-based status reports on the international
plastics recycling market are conspicuous by their absence. For its part,
PlasticsEurope highlights the substantial difficulties entailed in drawing
together figures from all the member states of an ever-growing EU. And Mr
Sainsbury at WRAP acknowledges that, compared for example to the paper
and glass industries, there is a far greater challenge attached to obtaining
meaningful recycling data from the plastics industry because it is ‘much
more fragmented’ and accommodates ‘significantly more players’.
RI_008 WRAP Plastics:Opmaak 1 24-01-2008 09:17 Pagina 41
