Plastics Make A Favourable Contribution To The Environment

In spite of the myths, plastics make an overall contribution to the environment due to their lightweight, low volume, highly durable properties. They use less energy and pollute less in manufacture than many other materials and, more importantly, they can easily be recycled. The same recycling opportunities apply to a polyethylene carrier bag and to a plastic drinks bottle; to expanded polystyrene building insulation and PVC window frames.

Across Europe, the recovery rate of post-consumer end-of-life plastics now stands at a record 50%. And with the UK now recognising the value of energy-from-waste, it is worth remembering that a one litre plastic drinks bottle will power a light bulb for 1½ hours if recovered through a state of the art EfW plant. So we need to start thinking of plastic as simply a borrowed resource which can be efficiently recycled or reclaimed.