The Government needs to remove the incentive that means it is better to export it than process it in the UK, according to Closed Loop Recycling.
During a visit to the company’s facility by local MP Margaret Hodge last week, Closed Loop Recycling managing director Chris Dow told her that the plastics recycling industry still has barriers to overcome, and in particular the issue of overseas waste shipments.
He said: “While more and more consumers are doing their bit for recycling and most local authorities now collect plastic bottles at the kerbside, some waste companies are still sending huge volumes of plastic waste abroad rather than having it processed here in the UK, due to the incentives they receive via the Government’s PRN credit system.
“If this material stayed in the UK, it would reduce our imports of virgin raw materials and would create sorting and reprocessing jobs in the UK. Recent report have suggested more than 50,000 new UK recycling jobs would be created if 70 per cent of waste collected by councils was recycled here in the UK.
“We’re not asking the Government to stop waste exports altogether, simply to create a level playing field for the UK recycling industry by reviewing the existing system which currently favours export of materials rather than domestic recycling.”
