Thousands of tonnes of used EPS packaging recycled

Thousands of tonnes of used EPS packaging recycled in 2006 In 2006, 4, 670 tonnes of EPS (expanded polystyrene) packaging were recycled in the UK, equalling 29.3% of the amount that is manufactured in the UK. Tony Pruchniewicz, Chairman of the EPS Packaging Group, comments: “The EPS Packaging Group works hard to support and encourage the recycling of EPS packaging and we are very pleased that — once again — the UK’s EPS recycling tonnage increased in 2006. “With EU targets set at 25% of manufacturing tonnage for plastics and UK plastics packaging recycling achieving 21.5%, these figures demonstrate, that EPS packaging is at the forefront of plastics recycling in the UK.” Consumers are often unaware that a familiar polystyrene box is 100% recyclable and, that thousands of tonnes of polystyrene are recycled each year in the UK. “Currently, it is difficult for householders to recycle EPS because the local authorities do not collect it — as they do other items such as cardboard, glass or plastic bottles,” explains Tony Pruchniewicz. “As a result, all the recycling of EPS packaging in the UK is undertaken by responsible businesses that work closely with recyclers to set up viable schemes and ensure that their old EPS — a valuable resource that can be used again — is not wasted. “These business recycling projects have been very successful, but we hope that local authorities will start collecting EPS packaging for recycling,” says Pruchniewicz. “There is a huge demand for used EPS in the UK; many recyclers want to increase the tonnage that they process.“If local authorities got involved then we would quickly see a dramatic increase in the amounts of EPS recycled in the UK.”

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