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Boris Johnson Backs New Bottle Campaign

14 June 2012

The UK is sitting on top of 1.4m tonnes of untapped resource in the form of post consumer plastic that could drive the UK recycling industry to the next level, according to plastic bottle recycler, Closed Loop Recycling

The plastic recyclers are launching a brand new campaign backed by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, in support of the British recycling industry, aimed at encouraging all aspects of the supply loop to collect and recycle more plastic bottles here in the UK.

1.8m tonnes of post-consumer plastics are generated every year in the UK, nearly a third (580,000 tonnes) being plastic bottles - that's 23.2bn bottles. However 300,000 tonnes of good quality plastic is still sent to landfill each year and a large percentage of what is collected - 70 percent in the case of bottles - is shipped abroad, stifling the UK recycling industry, which relies upon this valuable resource.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: "Taking time to chuck your unwanted plastic bottles into the recycling bin, rather than your rubbish bin, is not only good for the environment, but great for our wallets too. Recycling saves Londoners money, with the added bonus of creating jobs in London."

Unveiling a specially designed logo, Closed Loop Recycling is launching its campaign with a hard-hitting We Need Your Bottles message to coincide with National Recycle Week (18-24 June 2012), which is focusing specifically on plastic bottle recycling.

Closed Loop Recycling is urging the British public to remember to place their used plastic bottles in available recycling bins - whether at home or out in public places - in order that they can be collected for recycling into new food and drink packaging. 　

Closed Loop Recycling CEO Chris Dow explains: "'We Need Your Bottles' is all about educating people about the importance of mining Britain's urban forest. Used plastic bottles are a valuable resource to the UK recycling industry, which has the knowledge and technology to recycle them for the future.

"By encouraging consumers to recycle more than they are doing already, asking waste firms to support UK recyclers rather than shipping overseas and incentivising UK brands to use UK-sourced recyclate in their packaging, companies like ours will be able to grow further, create more green jobs and boost Britain's low carbon economy.

"Recycling plastic bottles in the UK is best for the environment, for British businesses and for British jobs." 　　

As part of its campaign, Closed Loop Recycling is urging the government to review the current PRN/PERN system so that it no longer favours overseas waste shipments versus domestic recycling. The company is asking for a more level playing field.

Darrel Moore