It is estimated that an average of 35.8 million plastic bottles are used EVERY DAY in the UK, but only 19.8 million are recycled each day.
This means that approximately 16 million plastic bottles a day are not making their way into the recycling bin, but instead end up in landfill sites or in our oceans.
Plastic bottles are usually made of PET or HDPE:
- PET has some important characteristics such its strength, thermo-stability, gas barrier properties and transparency. It is also lightweight, shatter-resistant and recyclable. PET is widely used for mineral water, carbonated beverage, juice, alcoholic beverage and cooking oil.
- HDPE plastics make up the heavier containers that many of our everyday goods are stored in as it has properties of stiffness, strength and toughness. It is widely used in the UK for fresh milk bottles, shampoo and detergent bottles.
Both PET & HDEP plastic bottles are recyclable, so there’s no reason these shouldn’t be heading straight to the recycling bin – or better still, being reused! Making a small change like using a refillable bottle might not seem heroic, but your actions can help make a huge difference.