8 million pieces of packaging made from Cambridgeshire recycled material

At the beginning of the year a UK first was launched between the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership (RECAP) and Cambridgeshire based plastic packaging company Charpak Ltd to see plastic waste collected across the county sorted, recycled, cleaned and re-manufactured into new products that can be recycled again and again.

During its first six months more than 200 recycling trucks of plastic waste has been collected (over 1,500 tonnes), 199 of which has been recycled and re-processed within the UK.

Moreover, 215 tonnes of this material has been returned to Charpak to manufacture packaging made from the recycled material.

In total, 1,000 tonnes of Cambridgeshire’s plastic waste has been re-used by packaging manufacturers across the UK.

Chair of the RECAP board and South Cambridgeshire District Council’s lead cabinet member for environmental services, Cllr Bill Handley, said: “Our residents already do a brilliant job at recycling – 55 per cent of waste in Cambridgeshire is recycled but there is always room to improve.

“It is clear that residents want to do the right thing and I get a high number of emails from residents on the subject.”

Charpak managing director Paul Smith said: “1,000 tonnes of existing recycled material has been reused to make packaging, all within the UK. That means it’s not waste, it’s reusing valuable existing material and reduces the amount of new plastic that needs to be made.”