Wrap to fund 'startling' PET recycling opportunity

At a time when price for recovered PET is at an all-time high and 90% of mixed plastics in the waste stream presently going to landfill, the MPLF will deliver a shot in the arm by providing capital support to investors in mixed plastics reprocessing capacity in the UK, according to Wrap.

“A reduction in available capital brought on by the current economic climate together with recent market price volatility in recovered materials has meant that the risk-reward balance is still a barrier to private sector investment in mixed plastics recycling in the UK,” said Marcus Gover, Wrap’s director of market development.

“By establishing a loan fund, as opposed to offering a capital grant, investors can pay back the money after they start making a profit and WRAP can re-invest those funds into more support for the mixed plastics market,” he added.

UK householders dispose of 1.7 million tonnes of mixed plastics each year but it is estimated that only 20,000 tonnes of this is diverted from landfill.

Paul Davidson, Wrap’s plastics sector specialist, said that PET recycling could be worth up to £500m a year to the UK economy.

“At the moment the UK exports all of its recovered non bottle plastics, mostly to China,” she said, “If we closed the loop through increased collections and reprocessing of mixed plastics, the economic benefits could be startling.”

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