Few companies in the UK have come together to start work on a two-year project called 'Reflex,' with the hope of significantly improving the recyclability of flexible packaging and diverting more of it away from the landfill.
The project aims to create a circular economy for flexible packaging by getting the whole supply chain involved and has been funded by the UK's Innovate UK and led by Manchester, England-based Axion Consulting.
Companies like Amcor, Dow Chemical Company, Interflex Group, Nestlé UK, SITA Holdings UK, Tomra Sorting and Unilever UK Central Resources will join Innovate UK and Axion in the project.
Polymer producers, packaging manufacturers, waste management firms and recyclers will also be a part of the project.
Although the Reflex project has commenced operations, it is being anticipated that it will take at least a decade to reach the point where the figure will hit 50%, reported Plastics News.
Flexible packaging such as plastic bags, confectionery wrappers, frozen food bags and pouches makes up nearly a third (32%) of consumer plastic packaging in the UK. However, almost all of this 556,000 tonnes produced annually ends up in landfill. By contrast 58% of plastic bottles are recycled.
Axion director Roger Morton said: "This project aims to remove the barriers preventing flexible packaging being recycled, thus enabling recyclers such as Axion and SITA to change the supply chain, create a circular economy in flexible packaging and divert it from landfills.
"To achieve this, innovative recyclable flexible package designs and materials are required, where all the materials used can be reprocessed together. Recycling these materials is still very technically and commercially challenging."
Research has already been started into how flexible packaging can be collected, sorted and reprocessed into high-quality recycled plastic pellet for use in the manufacture of a wide range of products.
