Plastic Fantastic - A Bradford Recycling Success Story

Bradford based Plastic Recycling specialists and Why Waste members - Enviroplastics are expanding. Increasing interest in recycling has given them the confidence to relocate in larger premises, invest in new equipment and take on more staff. They are now able to help even more local businesses save money or even generate income from their waste. Established over 10 years ago Enviroplastics offer a professional plastic recycling service to West Yorkshire businesses. They collect a full range of plastic wastes, take this back to their premises for sorting, baling and shredding and then sell on to end users to be manufactured into new products – polythene, furniture, boards etc. This success story proves that businesses are taking the environmental message on board. Waste disposal costs have risen dramatically over the last few years as a result of the Government’s Landfill Tax Escalator. The days of blindly throwing waste into a skip are over. Businesses are becoming more environmentally aware and the message that good environmental practice means good business practice is stronger than ever. Business owners Glyn Jepson and Sin Ching Chan explain... “We are 100% committed to improving the recycling performance of local businesses and believe that the green agenda makes good business sense and is worth investing in”. Plastic Recycling facts: • All types of plastic are recyclable. • Most plastics are made from fossil fuels by recycling plastics we conserve these non-renewable resources. • The amount of plastic waste generated annually in the UK is estimated to be nearly 5 million tonnes. (WRAP) • The UK currently recycles approximately 24% of plastic while a European country like Germany recycles 44% (British Plastic Federation) • 1.8 tonnes of oil are saved for every tonne of recycled polythene produced • Recycling creates jobs - Incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates 1 job, landfilling the same amount creates 6 jobs while recycling the same 10,000 tons creates 36 jobs. • Plastics can take up to 400 years to break down in a landfill. • In one year along, approximately 684,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved by recycling the UK’s plastics, the equivalent of taking 216,000 cars off the road! (BPF).