UK recycled plastic product makes finals of Europe-wide competition

A UK product manufactured from 100 percent recycled plastic has made the finals of a prestigious European competition.

The ‘Loft Stilt’ produced by West Bromwich based Counterplas has been shortlisted as one of only five finalists in the ‘Product’ category of the 2017 edition of The European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisation’s Best Recycled Plastic Product Awards.

Sitting alongside entries from Germany, Belgium and Spain, the Loft Stilt is the only UK-made product in the finals.

Designed to raise the floor height in a loft space, the Loft Stilt enables homeowners to achieve a maximum insulation thickness of 270mm, therefore maximising their energy saving efficiency, whilst still maintaining a useable loft storage area.

An initial batch of ‘Loft Stilts’ were promoted through several major DIY retailers to gauge consumer response. Counterplas says the “resounding success” of the product, not least because of its environmental credentials, has led to “thousands” being sold in the UK each week.

A competition to bring a Circular Economy closer

EPRO says this award shows businesses and public sector organisations just some of the products that are now available to purchase across Europe with green credentials, creating increased and sustained demand for recycled plastics within the marketplace.

Commenting on the importance of a competition that acknowledges and highlights the use of recycled plastics in consumer products, Peter Sundt, EPRO General Secretary, said it was meant to inspire not only the participants, but everyone in society. This, he said, would bring us “closer to a circular economy”.

Stuart Foster, CEO of UK-based recycling organisation, RECOUP, said that the competition allowed “much more noise” to be made about the “fantastic products and applications” now made using recycled plastic.

“This competition enables the industry to further demonstrate their commitment and work in Corporate Social Responsibility, and help consumers to understand the outcomes of their plastic recycling efforts more fully,” he added.

Announcing the winning product

The overall winner of the competition will be revealed at the upcoming ‘IdentiPlast’ conference for the recycling and recovery of plastics, being held in Vienna, Austria, on 22-23 February 2017.

All the delegates at IdentiPlast will have an opportunity to view the shortlisted products and vote on the winning entry on the first day of the conference, with the award being presented at the conference dinner.

Awards judges, selecting the shortlisted entries, said they were “impressed by both the number of entries and how many of the products showed long term sustainability and innovation.”  

The complete list of shortlisted finalists in the ‘Product’ category is as follows:

Counterplas (UK) - with the Loft stilt

INCOPLAS sa/nv (Belgium) - with the EUR range of bottles made from HDPE circular compounds

Papier-Mettler (Germany) - with reusable bags for life made from back-of-store waste

Roofeco System SL (Spain) - with an engineered modular roof tile system

SP-Berner (Spain) - with the ‘Venus’ outdoor furniture range

There are additionally two short-listed entries in the ‘Design’ category:

Mi-bin Ltd (Ireland) - with the ‘Mi-bin’ multifunctional intelligent bin

SP-Berner (Spain) – with the ‘Miami Set’ self-assembly outdoor furniture