RECOUP Household Collection Survey: “The Opportunities are Clear”

For the UK to make a significant increase to the amount of plastics packaging that is recycled there must be real investment in kerbside recycling systems and communications, says RECOUP.

The call comes following the publication of RECOUP’s annual ‘Household Collections Survey’, which showed less than a one percent increase year-on-year for plastic bottles and points to new collection schemes slowing down.

Even though the survey showed that over half a million tonnes of plastics packaging (512,475 tonnes) had been collected for the first time in 2016, RECOUP says that with a collection rate of 58 percent for all types of plastic bottles and 32 percent for pots, tubs and trays the “opportunities are clear.”

The findings highlighted the further cuts to Local Authority budgets in the UK – with 51 percent receiving less funding for providing waste and recycling collections or delivery of communications to householders about waste and recycling. This represents a significant change to the results when the same question was asked the previous year – with just 13 percent reporting budget cuts.

RECOUP says in terms of legislation, the role of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and ambitions for the future, the next two-to-three years provides another window of opportunity for the UK, with the potential for a greater producer fund responsible for the delivery of a national consumer-focused communications strategy prioritising reducing contamination and encouraging recycling rates.

“Making kerbside systems as good as they can be will inevitably lead to higher household plastic collection levels. Consumer communication particularly needs financial backing. The question is, over the next two to three years, is there the funding and real desire to carry this forward?” said RECOUP Technical Manager, Steve Morgan.

Image: RECOUP has said the opportunities for UK household recycling are clear.