Rejected recyclate

Joan Ruddock, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Climate Change, Biodiversity and Waste), confirmed in a written response published in Hansard that UK Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) are rejecting almost 10 per cent of their input either at the MRF or at recyclers' gates.

PaperChain, which represents the recycling interests of the UK paper industry, has also expressed concerns about the amount of paper and cardboard that is rejected for recycling. PaperChain estimates that, if the material that paper mills reject is also taken into consideration, the rejection rate is likely to be closer to 20 per cent.

These figures highlight the rate of contamination in co-mingled collections. If a batch of recovered paper is deemed to be of poor quality (e.g. contaminated by plastics, glass, or unsuitable papers), reprocessors must either send it for further sorting or send it for landfill/incineration. Paperchain feels that the public does not expect the materials they put out for recycling to end up in landfill. Even if the contaminated recyclate is sent for further sorting, it is usually shipped overseas (to India, Indonesia or China, where labour costs are cheaper), which not only raises ethical questions, but also causes further CO2 emissions.

PaperChain Chairman, Martin Green commented: "The landfilling and incineration of recyclable material is a lost opportunity. With improved collection methods, much of this material could have been recovered in a useable state for recycling, saving significant quantities of CO2.

"There is also a risk that with so much material put out by the public for recycling ending up landfilled or incinerated through the recovery process, the public will lose confidence and participation levels may drop."