Bottle recycling rate rises
Wednesday, September 23, 2015 - 11:56:15
Although plastic bottles are still a big problem in the battle for improved sustainability and eco-friendliness across the world, the latest figures suggest that Europe is continuing to improve the recycling rate for this type of waste product.
The latest information on PET recycling, published by Petcore, shows that 57 per cent of bottles and containers created using this substance were recycled last year, representing a 6.8 per cent annual increase and indicating that the stagnation of recycling in this area is being overcome.
1.8 million tonnes of the 3.1 million tonnes of PET bottles and packages that were sold in 2014 were collected and processed at recycling facilities across the continent. And this is being highlighted not only as evidence of growing willingness to properly dispose of plastic waste, but also as a sign that PET is a particularly suitable material to form part of this circular system.
Petcore spokesperson, Patrick Peuch, said that his organisation was pleased with the growth of plastic bottle recycling, but said that it was still necessary to campaign for greater awareness amongst consumers, so that this momentum can be maintained.
While the EU-wide figure for PET recycling sits at 57 per cent, Peuch pointed out that there are significant variations from country to country, meaning that some nations are more attuned to the need to recycle this type of material than others.
It is also worth noting that the European capacity for recycling PET has not been reached, meaning that the existing facilities are capable of handling much more material each year than is currently provided for them. So, if ongoing campaigns to increase awareness are successful and collection of recyclable materials rise, the industry will be ready to deal with the influx of bottles and containers, according to letsrecycle.com.
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