04/10/24
RECOUP 2024: Carbon the topic for the future
RECOUP 2024: Carbon the topic for the future
Carbon emissions, UK legislation and the role of industry in helping consumers
to choose correctly were front of mind at last week's RECOUP conference, write
Will Collins and Chloe Kinner London, 4 October (Argus) — The plastic supply
chain needs to become less carbon intensive to preserve its environmental
advantage compared with other materials, and supporting the recycling industry
through a challenging period will play a central role, delegates heard at last
week's RECOUP conference in Peterborough, UK. Plastic currently has a
competitive advantage compared with many competing packaging materials when
viewed through life cycle analysis of carbon emissions, particularly because its
light weight reduces pollution during transport and its barrier properties
lessen wastage. But this may not last forever, said Kinza Sutton from
sustainable packaging organisation Plastipak, and with carbon set to be "the big
topic of the future" the industry needs to focus today on reducing emissions
linked to production, which she said are responsible for around two thirds of
those generated over the whole lifecycle. But several speakers also emphasised
the need to consider environmental gains in the context of the UK and Europe's
competitiveness on the global stage. Stuart Hayward-Higham, innovation officer
of waste management firm Suez, said "governments in the UK and Europe need to be
conscious of the administrative burden on businesses", and called for regulators
to align standards with neighbouring countries to boost efficiency and ensure a
level playing field. Ermis Panagiotopoulos of global PET producer and recycler
Indorama added environmental legislation has contributed to uncompetitive energy
and raw materials prices in Europe, which make other regions more attractive to
international companies as an investment. Participants suggested combining
regulations with protective measures such as extending the carbon border
adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to include plastics, could help to ensure Europe's
competitiveness. Recycling to reduce emissions Increasing recycling and the
uptake of recyclates in plastic products is one of the most effective ways to
reduce carbon emissions linked to plastic raw materials. But Recoup chairman Jim
Armstrong highlighted the need to support the UK recycling industry. "We need
infrastructure to convert the materials that we will collect, that is part of
the circle. The UK recycling industry is really under pressure at the moment.
The idea there's a whole queue of financial investors waiting to invest in UK
recycling, that's just not true at the moment", he said. The price of plastic
waste bales in the UK has fallen incrementally throughout the year, amid slow
demand for domestic and export sales and a drop in the value of Packaging
Recovery Notices (PRNs), which recyclers generate by processing packaging waste
and which are intended to contribute to investment. And on the downstream side
of the recycling industry, Biffa Polymers mothballed a 25,000t/yr mechanical
recycling plant in northeast England in June owing to "extremely challenging
market conditions", while Viridor announced in August it would not proceed with
plans to build a chemical recycling plant in Sunderland, citing delays to UK
legislation . Robbie Staniforth from packaging compliance scheme Ecosurety noted
a number of incoming measures that should help UK plastic recyclers, including
extended producer responsibility (EPR) and a deposit return scheme (DRS) for PET
bottles. But he said the UK's plastic packaging tax (PPT), which is intended to
support demand for recyclates, needs improvement. Regarding PPT, Kinza Sutton
said Plastipak had expected it to drive more use of recycled material, but in
fact its recycled content had dropped by 5pc since 2022. "The plastics tax [has]
driven cost increases, and we've seen the average recycled content come down. We
were seeing high levels of 51pc or 100pc, we're seeing a lot less of that now,
companies are just reverting back down to 30pc [the minimum threshold to avoid
paying PPT]". Engaging the customer Customers may support more re-use and
recycling, but it is the industry's responsibility to help them make the right
choices and minimise the necessary sacrifice to convenience and the cost burden,
delegates heard. Gavin Ellis, co-founder of environmental organisation Hubbub,
said research had shown consumers spend just two seconds on average deciding
which bin to use for items of waste packaging, making clear labelling vital. A
consistent approach between brands, outlets and collection systems is also
important, he said. James Bull, head of packaging at Tesco, said retailers need
to change products carefully, with an awareness that people have grown to rely
on convenience and may be resistant to changes such as a move to a more
reuse-based system. And Andrew Murray from appliance manufacturer Beko said new
regulations should take into account the financial capabilities of consumers.
Many households already cannot afford essential appliances, he said, making any
measures that would increase the cost of the cheapest models potentially
problematic. Despite the short-term challenges the industry is facing the
sentiment at the event was optimistic for plastics recycling in the UK and
Europe. Participants see the opportunity the industry has to lead consumers
along the path to a more sustainable packaging supply chain model of reduced
consumption and systems with more focus on reuse and recycling with the support
of legalisation. Send comments and request more information at
feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights
reserved.
