Waste firm urges action on ‘clear’ recycling policy
A SKELMERSDALE firm says people are increasingly confused about recycling and called on the Government to do more to stop household waste ending up in landfill.
Recycling and renewable energy company Viridor has launched the 2018 edition of its UK Recycling Index, shedding more light on the UK’s growing public concern over plastic use.
The firm, which has a plastic reprocessing plant in Skelmersdale, in addition to specialist glass recycling facilities at Newhouse, in Scotland, and in Sheffield, said the public wanted to see government policy which keeps plastic created in the UK here, with recycled material used to manufacture new products.
The poll shows that, with public awareness heightened by television programmes such as Blue Planet, public concern over plastics is at an all-time high with fears of UK “floating islands of rubbish” in the next 50 years if more is not done to capture and recycle plastic.
Viridor’s research has found almost half (45%) are willing to pay additional tax on non-recyclable plastics and three in five (61%) are more likely to buy products with recycled packaging.
Viridor managing director Phil Piddington said: “Public concern over the environmental impact of plastics continues to gain momentum in the UK, in parallel to a broader awareness of the importance of recycling generally.
“The 2018 Index shows that not only are people increasingly confused over what and how they can recycle, they’re also becoming less confident that businesses or government are playing their respective roles in ensuring resources are given new life.
“For our part, we are working closely with retailers and packaging manufacturers to make products, including plastics, more recyclable. Viridor also wants the UK to make it easier for the public to recycle more and to introduce policies that encourage additional investment in UK recycling.”