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| Current Issues > News & Comments |
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| 15/09/2008 | Innovation in sorting mixed plastics |  |
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A plastic bottle sorting plant which is also capable of sorting some mixed plastics was opened by J&A Young (Leicester) Ltd earlier this month.
The plant, at South Normanton, is capable of sorting 78,000 tonnes of plastic bottles and some... |
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| 15/09/2008 | Closed Loop London launches | |
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The UK ’s first combined PET and HDPE food grade recycling plant officially launched in east London in June – allowing plastic food and drinks packaging to be recycled back into plastic food and drink packaging.
Closed Loop Recycling... |
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| 1/07/2008 | Recoup help launch UK’s first ‘on-the-go’ Recycling Zone scheme | |
| | Recoup is pleased to be associated with the launch of the UK’s first “on-the-go” recycling zone scheme by Coca Cola Enterprises and WRAP.
Recycling Zone was launched at Thorpe Park in Surrey in May, and was the first step in a programme to create... |
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| 1/07/2008 | Recycling logo in shops now | |
| | The first products to carry the British Retail Consortium’s common packaging recycling logo can now be found on shop shelves, with 2,000 Asda own-brand products having been re-designed to include it. Some of these items are currently in store, with... |
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| 1/07/2008 | LGA report highlights level of packaging which cannot be recycled | |
| | A report from the Local Government Association (LGA) – War on Waste - has claimed that up to 38% of packaging in a regular shopping basket cannot be recycled.The association called on the government to make retailers responsible for funding council... |
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| 30/06/2008 | The deposit scheme debate | |
| | The debate over whether the UK should follow in the footsteps of countries including Australia, Sweden, Denmark and Germany by implementing a deposit scheme on plastic bottles was raised recently by the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
As part of... |
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| 9/06/2008 | Annual Local Authorities Plastics Collection Survey 2008 is published | |
| | New research undertaken by Recoup, in partnership with Valpak and funded by WRAP, shows that the collection and recycling of plastic bottles has continued to increase compared to 2007 figures.
92% of local authorities now offer collection... |
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| 1/05/2008 | Carrier bag debate update | |
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The last few weeks have seen a real ignition to the debate around carrier bags, both in the UK and internationally.
The Chancellor announced in his latest Budget speech... |
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| 1/05/2008 | What's happening in the world of milk bottles? | |
| | Developments in milk packaging have been at the forefront of the news since the start of the year.
Plastic bottle manufacturer Nampak has teamed up with WRAP and milk producer Dairy Crest on a project aiming to reduce the weight of packaging... |
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| 1/05/2008 | DEFRA announces new packaging waste recycling targets | |
| | DEFRA has confirmed that packaging waste recovery and recycling targets for Great Britain will increase from April 2008 onwards.
Recycling targets for all packaging materials have been increased, with targets for plastics being 26% in 2008, 27%... |
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| 18/02/2008 | The great carrier bag debate | |
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The future of plastic carrier bags has sparked a lot of debate in recent months, with everyone from supermarkets, to representatives from the packaging industry, to the Prime Minister getting involved. Â
Each year, over 13 billion bags are... |
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| 18/02/2008 | Impact of WEEE Directive | |
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July 2007 saw the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive come into force in the UK.
This directive covers ten categories of electronics and gives manufacturers... |
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| 18/02/2008 | Mixed Plastics round-up | |
| | The recovery and recycling of mixed plastics was a hot topic in 2007 - so much so that we dedicated our October event to the subject. The term 'mixed plastics' is at present a little undefined. For some it simply means mixed bottle plastics e.g.... |
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| 18/02/2008 | Standardised recycling logo and call to action for retail packaging | |
| | Recoup are amongst a number of organisations consulted for their views on an initiative to clarify packaging recycling being developed by BRC, WRAP and a list of retailers. Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Asda are amongst those who have backed the... |
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| 11/04/2007 | No Health Risk from Alternate Weekly Collections | |
| | Alternate weekly collections, where residual waste is collected one week and recyclables the next, are an efficient way of increasing recycling rates. They also enable light-weight, high-volume materials, such as plastics, to be collected at very... |
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| 11/04/2007 | Recycled plastic milk bottles become a reality | |
| | A WRAP funded project was recently carried out by a team involving experts from the food, plastics and material recovery industries to produce 60,000 recycled content milk bottles for commercial sale. Â
During the course of the three-year... |
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| 6/12/2006 | Key plastics issues highlighted at LARAC | |
| | Last months LARAC Conference 2006 saw a superb line-up of expert speakers from some of the recycling world’s key organisations. We at Recoup were delighted to be included in this line-up, having been asked to talk about the future of plastics... |
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| 3/10/2006 | Recoup - Change at the top | |
| | At their recent AGM, Recoup, the UK’s leading authority on plastics waste management, announced the appointment of John Simmons as the new CEO of the organisation. As part of the founding team and Recoups’ first CEO serving in the position for... |
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| 19/06/2006 | Resource efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions | |
| | A study to quantify the lifecycle greenhouse gas CO2 equivalent emissions for the use of materials, has further supported the justification for recycling plastics, rubber as well as metals and glass. It shows a saving equivalent to over 1.6 tonnes... |
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| 19/06/2006 | UK collection of plastic packaging for recycling increases to 414kt | |
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Latest figures issued by DEFRA show that just over 414kt of the UK's plastic packaging was recycled and reported under the packaging producer responsibility system of PRNs and PERNs. This represents a 21.8% recycling rate of plastic... |
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| 19/06/2006 | Municipal Waste figures | |
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More recycling, more waste, but less going to landfill, are the headline messages following the publication of provisional Municipal Waste arising figures by the Department of Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) for England. These results... |
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| 19/06/2006 | Regional event offers a RAY of light for Yorkshire and Humber Plastic Recycling | |
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New research undertaken by Recoup on behalf of Recycling Action Yorkshire suggests that there is significant demand from reprocessors for plastic material in Yorkshire and the Humber that far outstrips collection levels.
The report has... |
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| 19/06/2006 | Increased resources for farmers | |
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A new website launched by FarmPlas will enable farmers to gain access to valuable tools and information to prepare and conform to the new agricultural waste legislation.
This new resource from Farmplas will focus on showing farmers there is a... |
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| 19/06/2006 | Extending the 'responsibility' for non-packaging farm plastics recycling | |
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In March Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) announced that the UK would introduce statutory producer responsibility regulations to increase the collection and recycling of non-packaging farm plastics. This legislation will... |
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| 19/06/2006 | the BIG recycle 2006 | |
| | Recoup, the UK's leading authority on plastics waste management, is pleased to announce that it is supporting 'the BIG recycle' for the third year running.
Recoup have supported this major national recycling campaign since 2004, by contributing... |
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| 19/06/2006 | Nearly 9 out of 10 people now offered plastic bottle recycling service | |
| | Research funded by WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) carried out by Recoup (RECycling Of Used Plastics) has highlighted that 86% of councils collect plastic bottles for recycling and kerbside collection schemes reach almost half of all... |
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| 12/01/2006 | UK - New Year, New Targets, New Rules | |
| | 2006 starts with new, higher recycling & recovery targets issued by Defra, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive. Within the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 2004/12/EC, the UK is required to recycle more packaging by... |
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| 12/01/2006 | UK on track for 2005 target | |
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Packaging waste figures published by DEFRA for Q3 2005 show that the final 2005 target is broadly achievable. The UK looks reasonably on track for the 2005 target (392kt) however the actual outcome is very dependent on whether a large volume of so... |
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| 12/01/2006 | 'Broadly' speaking | |
| | New for 2006 is the introduction of Broadly Equivalent clause being transposed into UK law this month, meaning the need for overseas operators to meet standards 'broadly equivalent' to those adhered to in Europe.
The move is designed to... |
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| 12/01/2006 | Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Management Group debates plastics | |
| | Recoup provided MPs and other stakeholders with an update on plastics recycling issues
at the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group in December. Speaking alongside Wrap,
the LGA and EA, Recoup emphasised the sustained demand for... |
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| 12/01/2006 | Recoup & GHK win major export study project | |
| | Recoup, working in partnership with international consultancy GHK, has won a major project
commissioned by Wrap to undertake a study of export markets for plastics.
The study, which will report back in the Spring, will consider the profile of... |
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| 7/07/2005 | Recoup Annual Meeting highlights shortfall in plastics recycling | |
| | “There is danger of a plastics recycling shortfall and producers need to act now to ensure national plastics recycling targets are achieved”. This was the stark message from the Recoup Annual General Meeting, held in London on June 23rd.... |
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| 7/07/2005 | Plastic PRNs & Prosecutions | |
| | The Q1 plastic packaging recycling data has been published. This indicates that in Q1 2005 92,262t of plastic packaging were collected for recycling, of which 43,656 were recycled in the UK. This shows a continuing trend to export and declining... |
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| 2/06/2005 | Diary Date - Recoup Annual General Meeting & Members' Lunch | |
| | Make a date in your diary for this year’s Recoup Annual General Meeting, which will be held on Thursday 23 June at The Brewery, Central London.
Speakers will include: Steve Gough, Chief Executive Valpak; Melissa Shinn, Senior Policy Advisor... |
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| 2/06/2005 | Survey shows a doubling in the amount of plastic bottles collected for recycling | |
| | The quantity of plastic bottles collected for recycling in the UK has doubled over the past two years according to research carried out by Recoup and funded by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme).
The report reveals that collections are... |
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| 11/05/2005 | Recycling Zone pilot highlights benefits of plastic bottle recycling for schools and offices | |
| | Recoup has completed a research project, in partnership with other organisations, on recycling plastic bottles and cans from schools and offices. The final report is now available. Recycling Zone (RZ) is an innovative, branded programme aimed at... |
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| 11/05/2005 | UK plastic packaging recycling misses national target by 40,000 tonnes | |
| | The packaging recycling figures for 2004 have now been published. As predicted by Recoup, plastics has fallen short of its target for recycling by around 40kt. This means that some compliance schemes and individual compliers will have failed to... |
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| 9/11/2004 | Germany given three months to amend packaging deposit scheme | |
| | The European Commission will tackle Germany in the European Court of Justice in three months’ time if it fails to introduce a national scheme which will allow consumers to return their non-reusable “one way” beverage packaging to any retail... |
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| 9/11/2004 | ÂŁ2.5m funding for Scottish Waste | |
| | Councils in Scotland will have the opportunity to further improve their waste management and recycling points/centres by sharing in a ÂŁ2.5m fund. The fund is to complements the cÂŁ202m already provided by the Strategic Waste Fund to all 32 local... |
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| 9/11/2004 | Potential for plastics to be collected from licensed premises | |
| | WRAP has launched a tender for a new project to understand the economics and practical viability of glass collections from licensed premises and the potential benefits and motivations for licensed premises to participate in glass recycling schemes.... |
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| 6/10/2004 | the BIG recycle | |
| | There is still time for Local Authorities to register for this years BIG recycle, Impersonator Alistair McGowan has pledged his celebrity support to the BIG recycle, which starts on Monday 18th October.
The BIG recycle will be based around a... |
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| 6/10/2004 | Plastic Bottle Recycling Seminars | |
| | Regional seminars have started, for local authorities, community groups and waste management contractors to stimulate more successful plastic bottle collection schemes.
Seminars are being run by Wrap with technical content from Recoup and from... |
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| 6/10/2004 | New PVC recycling scheme | |
| | A new recycling project in the Thames Valley is targeting post consumer PVC materials from the flooring, window, pipe and guttering markets. The pilot project has been launched by the British Plastics Federation and will contribute to the Vinyl 2010... |
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| 6/10/2004 | Results of PRN investigation | |
| | Government investigations have revealed that some reprocessors and exporters of plastic packaging waste have been failing to meet Government requirements on recycling.
The investigation has shown that reprocessors and exporters have been... |
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| 14/07/2004 | Research into recycling from flats published | |
| | Collecting recyclable materials from flats has long proved a puzzle for local authorities. New research into the scale and scope for the development of recycling schemes to serve such properties has now been completed and published by DEFRA.
The... |
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| 14/07/2004 | Report published on the future of film recycling | |
| | Investigations into the options for improving the collection of packaging waste film in the UK have been published in a new report by WRAP. The research, "Development of Options for Enhancing Commercial and Industrial Film Collection", was carried... |
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| 14/07/2004 | Councils trial KAT to calculate kerbside recycling costs | |
| | Twelve local councils have begun testing the kerbside analysis tool (KAT), designed to estimate the cost of proposed recycling programmes.
The KAT has been developed by Eco Alternatives consultancy in collaboration with Waste Watch and provides a... |
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| 14/07/2004 | Recoup's AGM highlights need for more collaboration | |
| | The Minister for the Environment, Elliot Morley, has called for plastics packaging manufacturers to become more closely involved in the design of packaging with consideration for recyclability and the incorporation of recycled plastics in their... |
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| 4/06/2004 | European Court of Justice to rule against German deposit scheme | |
| | It is likely that, later this year, the European Court of Justice will rule that the German Government's deposit system is unlawful.
The deposit system, imposed on single-use drinks packaging, has come under fire since it was introduced in... |
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| 4/06/2004 | Japanese process recycled PET bottles into virgin-grade PET | |
| | Japanese process recycles PET bottles into virgin-grade PET
Teijin Fibres has developed a process which depolymerises used PET bottles, enabling them to be converted into food grade packaging and other high value applications.
The process... |
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| 5/04/2004 | Recycled plastic truck panels developed by Loughborough University | |
| | Recoup members, Loughborough University, have developed a new lightweight panelling for trucks made from recycled plastics.
The new product, called Panelplus, was developed by the University's Institute of Polymer Technology and Materials... |
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| 5/04/2004 | Environment Agency calls in police expertise | |
| | The Environment Agency has called in the police to investigate how and why PRNs were issued from a book belonging to a reprocessor whose accreditation was withdrawn in November 2003.
The Agency has become aware that PRNs appear to have been... |
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| 5/04/2004 | Irish firm acquires Delleve Plastics | |
| | Plastics recycling company Delleve, together with its sister company Reprise, has been brought by Irish company JFC Manufacturing.
JFC, a rotational moulding and plastic products producer, now owns Delleve's manufacturing and plastic bottle... |
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| 3/03/2004 | DEFRA launches investigation into PRN fraud allegations | |
| | DEFRA officials have been asked by Environment Minister, Elliot Morley, to investigate the alleged fraudulent issuing of plastics PRNs (Packaging Waste Recovery Notes) and PERNs (Packaging Waste Export Recovery Notes).
This is the second stage of... |
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| 3/03/2004 | Plastic bottle collections up by 50% | |
| | A 50% increase in plastic bottle collections over the past two years has been revealed by research funded by WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) and carried out by Recoup.
With data provided by all 477 UK local authorities, the research... |
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| 20/02/2004 | DEFRA launches consultation on Waste Management Performance Reward Fund Grant | |
| | DEFRA has launched a consultation on its proposals for the Waste Management Performance Reward Fund Grant, the scheme to replace the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund. The scheme is designed to provide incentives to local authorities to improve... |
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| 6/01/2004 | £10m available from WRAP’s Regional Market Development Fund | |
| | Finance is being made available by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) “to provide support for local and regional projects that will contribute to healthy markets for recycled materials nationally”.
The funding is designed to assist... |
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| 6/01/2004 | Chancellor confirms landfill tax escalator in Pre-Budget report | |
| | Chancellor Gordon Brown confirmed increases to the landfill tax charge in his Pre-Budget report, setting the charge at ÂŁ15 per tonne from 1st April 2004 with a ÂŁ3 increase per tonne in 2005/6. The Treasury has not set a specific charge level for... |
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| 26/11/2003 | Plastics packaging recycling already close to 2006 target | |
| | Figures published by DEFRA alongside the new targets show that an estimated 419kt of plastic PRNs will be issued this year. This figure already exceeds the 2005 target and is not far short of the 2006 target of 429kt. On this basis, there is... |
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| 26/11/2003 | Government announces packaging waste recovery targets | |
| | Following consultation, as reported in the October issue of Recycling Plastics Monthly, Government has announced business packaging recovery and recycling targets for 2004-2008. Subject to parliamentary approval, these targets, together with other... |
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| 28/10/2003 | DEFRA announces ÂŁ135 million fund for waste minimisation | |
| | £135m of funding has been announced by the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as part of the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund launched in 2001. Local authorities have been invited to bid for a share of... |
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| 8/10/2003 | Recoup produces guidance for preparing plastic bottles for sale | |
| | Recoup Services has recently produced a guidance document for people wishing to prepare collected plastic bottles for sale.
The guidance notes provide practical advice on maximising the value of their material by achieving minimum contamination,... |
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| 8/10/2003 | New Case Studies for Best Practice | |
| | In response to the demand highlighted via the Recycling Plastics Monthly reader survey, Recoup has produced a series of Case Studies of plastics collection schemes.
The documents bring together Recoup research and expertise, with practical... |
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| 8/10/2003 | Warrington’s one million bottle success | |
| | The Warrington Compaction Bank Trial scheme has seen participation improve by 30% since the scheme first started in June 2002.
This month, the people of Warrington recycled their 1 millionth plastic bottle, which equates to 50 tonnes of... |
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| 8/10/2003 | New MRF planned for Greenwich could encourage more plastics recycling in London | |
| | Cleanaway is to build a new MRF in Greenwich to accept mixed recyclables from Borough Council kerbside collections for the next 20 years. The new facility will accept plastic bottles, potentially providing an incentive for more London councils to... |
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| 8/10/2003 | High volume : Low cost recyclables sorting in Norfolk | |
| | Norfolk Environmental Waste Services (NEWS) is constructing one of Europe’s most technologically advanced automated MRFs. The facility uses some of the latest sorting equipment and will have a throughput capacity of 90,000 tonnes of dry... |
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| 8/10/2003 | Research indicates potential for plastics recycling | |
| | Two new reports have recently been published indicating the potential for further development of plastics recycling, and the use of recycled material, in the UK.
Waste Watch, in association with Recoup and Valuplast, has produced a guide to... |
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| 11/07/2003 | Recoup AGM calls for greater involvement of plastics packaging industry in domestic recycling | |
| | Plastic packaging will be a major visible waste left in the household bin by 2008 unless efforts are made now to increase collections. Failure to enhance domestic plastics recycling will lead to a decline in public and political acceptability of... |
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