We could soon be buying milk in bottles that are in their second or third incarnation, if plans to build a state-of-the-art recycling plant get the go-ahead. The factory would be capable of processing up to 13,000/tpa used HDPE plastic bottles a year,equivalent to about 250M 1l bottles & turning them back into pellets of food-grade plastic. Scheduled to start processing bottles Dec/07, it would be the first "closed loop" recycling scheme for HDPE in the world, according to WRAP. Existing schemes are only capable of recycling other sorts of plastic or turning them into other products altogether. The technology has been 3y in the making as scientists tried to find a way around the problem posed by the inks & adhesive used on bottles' labels. At present, bottles can only contain around 30% recycled material to keep their appearance acceptable to shoppers. WRAP is now assessing bids to build the plant. Contracts should be agreed by Christmas.
