Resource Association - Contamination - The Enemy of Recycling

The Resource Association focuses on championing the value of UK reprocessing and recycling in terms of employment, resource efficiency and integrity, carbon reduction and our role in the low-carbon, green economy. It works with Governments across the UK, the European Commission, trade associations and stakeholders with shared interests. Today we have 28 member companies and organisations representing an estimated £2.7bn contribution to UK GDP, the recovery and recycling of over 7 million tonnes annually and the employment of over 7,000 people. Our mission is to support the development of a sustainable and healthy industry by providing a voice, forum and leadership for the materials reprocessing and recycling industries, as well as related environmental and social interests. Our vision is for a resource-efficient materials economy that realises value, prizes quality and seeks to maintain the integrity of the secondary materials that are still too commonly treated as waste. Contamination - The Enemy of Recycling This video represents the issues the reprosessing industry have, on a daily basis. The Resource Associations costs of contamination report showed that poor and inconsistent quality recyclate is a significant financial burden for British industry. The report identifies a conservative estimate of over £51 million a year of costs associated with the management of poor and inconsistent quality recyclate, representing an average of £15.67 per tonne. To help we have launched a project called ReQIP (Recycling Quality Information Point). Our ReQIP project brings together information from a wide range of reprocessors about their quality requirements for recyclate received by them, and highlights what they class as ‘prohibited materials’ which affect the integrity of their raw material. It is designed to provide information of use to local authorities and companies servicing the C&I sector as they determine the best ways to collect recycling in their local area, in the absence of any formal guidance from Government in England. For more details, please see: http://www.resourceassociation.com/reqip-recycling-quality-information-point