Recycling Technologies demonstrates its circular economy credentials with inclusion in international cross-industry initiative

Recycling Technologies joins the New Plastics Economy initiative

Swindon, 18th November 2016 – Recycling Technologies is pleased to announce today that it will be actively participating in the New Plastics Economy, an ambitious three-year initiative to build momentum towards a plastics system that works. The company’s support for the initiative neatly complements Recycling Technologies’ own core belief that a new system is needed to create a much more effective way of disposing of plastic waste.

Applying the principles of the circular economy, the New Plastics Economy initiative brings together key stakeholders to re-think and re-design the future of plastics, starting with packaging. The initiative is led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with a broad group of leading companies, cities, philanthropists, policymakers, academics, students, NGOs, and citizens. Recycling Technologies is one of five new participants joining the network today, alongside organisations from Canada and Europe including: Loop Industries, SUEZ, Tomra Systems and WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Programme). The five new Participants join Amcor, The Coca-Cola Company, MARS, Unilever and Veolia, which represent the initiative’s Core Partners.

The New Plastics Economy is working towards a global system for plastics that can work in the long term, with three main ambitions: creating an effective after-use plastics economy; drastically reducing leakage of plastics into natural systems and other negative externalities, and decoupling plastics from fossil feedstocks.

Adrian Griffiths, CEO at Recycling Technologies commented: “Clearly, the issue of waste plastic is growing year on year and it is a truly global problem. By turning waste plastic into a resource that can be re-used, our technology and process has the potential to contribute to creating a better system for plastics”.

Recycling Technologies’ ambition is to provide a scalable solution to boost global recycling rates for plastics. The company has designed the RT7000, a machine incorporating a chemical recycling process, which will be assembled on production lines then installed at Material Recovery Facilities [MRFs] around the world. Through this innovative solution to boosting plastics recycling, Recycling Technologies could contribute to creating a circular economy for plastics, which ultimately could dramatically reduce the negative impacts of plastic waste.

The Plaxx®, a clean monomer feedstock, produced by these machines is already useable and elements of it will ultimately be used by global polymer manufacturers as the feedstock for making more polymer, turning plastic material into a resource that can be re-used.

The potential for Recycling Technologies’ innovation to contribute towards tackling the problem of plastic waste is being recognised across the industry. Recycling Technologies has been shortlisted for a number of awards and recently was specially selected to exhibit at leading trade show, Innovate 2016. Recycling Technologies has also been included in an initiative called Unreasonable Impact – the first international network of accelerators focused on scaling up entrepreneurial solutions to pressing societal and environmental problems.

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Notes to editors:

About New Plastics Economy

The New Plastics Economy is an ambitious, three-year initiative to build momentum towards a plastics system that works. Applying the principles of the circular economy, the initiative brings together key stakeholders to re-think and re-design the future of plastics, starting with packaging. The initiative is led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with a broad group of leading companies, cities, philanthropists, policymakers, academics, students, NGOs, and citizens.

The New Plastics Economy initiative focuses on five interlinked and mutually reinforcing building blocks:

1. Dialogue mechanism – Bringing together for the first time a group of leading companies and cities across the global value chain to complete collaborative demonstration projects and inform the other building blocks

2. Global Plastics Protocol – Re-thinking plastic packaging materials, formats and after-use systems and standards to provide an economically and environmentally attractive target state to innovate towards

3. Innovation moon-shots – Mobilising targeted innovation ‘moon-shots’ focused on system wide solutions that have the potential to scale globally

4. Evidence base – Closing critical knowledge gaps by building an economic and scientific evidence base from which to draw insights. Plymouth Marine Laboratory is a project partner taking forward initial work on building the evidence base.
5. Outreach – Engaging a broad set of stakeholders, including citizens, educators, students, policymakers, NGOs, and industry associations in the redesign of a better system.
Players of People’s Postcode Lottery (GB), the MAVA Foundation and the Oak Foundation are philanthropic funders, and Wendy Schmidt, through The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, is the lead philanthropic partner. Amcor, MARS, Unilever and Veolia are the initiative’s initial core partners.

In January 2017 the New Plastics Economy will present its latest research findings to business and government leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. For more information visit: www.newplasticseconomy.org @NewPlasticsEcon facebook.com/newplasticseconomy

About Recycling Technologies

Recycling Technologies Ltd was founded in 2011 with the strategic goal of enabling the recycling of residual plastic waste. Recycling Technologies has since then produced one of the most significant developments in the world of plastics recycling by creating a unique chemical process which can help to solve the huge global environmental problem around disposing of plastic waste. Building on research initially from Warwick University the process expanded and enhanced so it could accept and recycle the bulk of municipal and commercial plastic waste streams directly and chemically turn it into a clean monomer feedstock - Plaxx®. As Recycling Technologies develops it is looking to work more with the plastics industry to ensure the future for plastics as a very valuable material whilst reducing the use of virgin fossil fuel stocks and preventing the current issues surrounding plastic waste streams. For further information, please visit www.recyclingtechnologies.co.uk

Media contacts:

Paula Elliott
Recycling Technologies Media Office
Tel: + 44 (0) 1189 497 736
Email: paula@c8consulting.co.uk