Plastic recycling news from the world of waste in May

It’s time for the next instalment of our news round-up blog series, bringing you the latest interesting news from the plastic waste and recycling industry.

As Coca-Cola announces its next step in driving towards a more circular economy and plastic-campaigners continue to push for an export ban during The Big Plastic Count Week, there’s a lot to catch up on in the world of waste! Find out more below…

A circular economy for plastics will be a crucial step towards a circular world

In the five years between the duo of climate conferences in Paris and Glasgow, the global economy has consumed half a trillion tonnes of materials. As the world continues to consume at pace and throw away culture becomes an afterthought – with only 8.6% of materials being recycled each year.

In this recent article with Edie, Martijn Lopes Cardozo, chief executive of Circle Economy, outlines why tackling this problem material is crucial in fostering a more sustainable world.

Single-use plastic campaigners seek export ban

Earlier this month, The Big Plastic Count took place as members of the public measured the scale of plastic pollution. Supported by Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic, campaigners hoped that this would influence the UK Government to reduce the use of virgin plastic by 50% by 2025.

Coca-Cola will attach caps to bottles to boost recycling

Coca-Cola Great Britain announced earlier this month that it would start introducing attached caps to its 1.5L bottles of Fanta, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, and Diet Coke – with a goal to switch all bottles across the brand by early 2024.

Stephen Moorhouse, general manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Great Britain said: “This is a small change that we hope will have a big impact, ensuring that when consumers recycle our bottles, no cap gets left behind.”

US is recycling just 5% of its plastic waste, studies show

Recent studies have found that the United States is recycling just 5% of its plastic waste – according to Beach Cleanup and Beyond Plastics.

The Department of Energy has also supported this figure after analysing data from 2019. Plastic waste has been on the rise in the US for many reasons including population growth, consumer preference, and low recycling rates. Although, the issue has further worsened due to China’s ban on most US plastic exports back in 2017.

Keep up to date with our favourite news stories next month, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, for more recycling updates and news from Indigo Environmental.