Recycle Week
September 22, 2021
Embracing innovation requires a behavioural change from all industry
stakeholders if it is to create the same shift in consumers – and it’s this collaboration that UKRI requires from the projects it backs. This brought support for ReNew ELP’s project for converting end-of-life plastics into new feedstocks that can be used to create new products. Bringing together engineering, manufacturers and university expertise, the project aims to start processing 20,000 tonnes of problem plastics a year once operational.
A similar collaborative approach has been taken by 17 partners in the ‘One bin to rule them all’ project, that aims to simplify recycling for consumers, derive value from reused plastic products, and address the wider recycling infrastructure issues. Likewise, the UKRI-backed CauliBox project is aiming to save 15 million single-use takeaway containers a year by signing up food vendors to a scheme of reusable and returnable take-away boxes. And the Evolve Packaging project will take the reuse concept further, with substantial research into the materials, technology and supply eco system required to develop a scalable, environmental and commercial solution for using plastic waste materials to form the bedrock of new products in a circular plastic economy of the future.