Plastic is a versatile material that is lightweight and is being used increasingly throughout the commercial sector - in packaging, construction and automotive industries. However it has to be noted that it is a finite resource - due to fact that it utilises crude oil in its manufacture. Currently the UK recycles only 19% of the plastic that it consumes (WRAP, 2007).

Since their inception the types of plastic available has been increasing, as have their uses. They are, for the most part, non-biodegradable (with the exception of newer polymers) and as such any plastics that have been sent to landfill in the past are still likely to be in the hole in the ground, in much the same shape as they were when they were buried. Although plastic can be burned it has a high calorific value and as such Energy from Waste plants cannot take large quantities of the material.

However, the vast majority of plastics can be recycled. The extent to which they are recycled depends upon both economic and logistic factors. It is also related to the cost of crude oil - in fact a recent study showed that almost two tonnes of CO2 can be saved if one tonne of recycled plastic is used rather than one tonne of virgin material. On the whole, recycled plastics are recovered from the commercial and industrial sectors, with bottles being recovered from domestic sources via local authority collection schemes. Therefore the collection of non-kerbside plastics is a new concept in the UK.

The past few years have seen plastic exported to Asian markets, China in particular, where material is sorted by hand by low-cost labour. However new export legislation and stakeholder pressures have lead to Local Authorities and businesses looking to reduce the amount of material sent to these markets.