Sir David Attenborough backs new UK technology capable of recycling all plastics

Wildlife filmmaker Sir David Attenborough has appeared in a video campaign for new plastic recycling technology in the UK, with rare support from the naturalist.

The campaign heralds the start of construction in the UK of a revolutionary recycling facility which the company behind the technology has said will be the first in the world capable of recycling all types of plastic. The process offers hope that a much larger proportion of the 300 million tonnes of plastic waste produced globally each year can be reused, thereby reducing the amount of plastics that ends up in the ocean.

“What’s so tragic about plastic pollution is that it’s totally unnecessary,” says Attenborough in the video released by UK recycling company Mura Technology. “The plastic of our oceans should never have found its way there.”

Attenborough is joined in the video by eminent marine biologist and activist Dr Sylvia Earle, and Jo Ruxton, producer of the 2016 Netflix documentary. An ocean of plastic.

The new recycling process, under the HydroPRS brand, took 12 years to develop and uses supercritical steam – steam that is superheated under high pressure – to break down plastics into the oils and chemicals from which they were made. . These components can then be used for a range of products, from new plastics to fuels.

Steve Mahon, CEO of Mura Technology, told Forbes.com: “Our process provides a viable recycling route for materials considered ‘non-recyclable’, which would otherwise go to landfill, incineration and disposal. the environment. HydroPRS can convert all types of plastics back to their constituent ingredients, for reuse in the manufacture of new plastics. ”

Mahon said there is no limit to the number of times plastic can be recycled using the process, and the process is even capable of separating organics from plastics such as food packaging. These organic materials are in turn used to fuel the boilers at the heart of the process.

The new factory is under construction in Teesside, in the north-east of England, and plans to roll out the technology around the world. He received government backing, with Rebecca Pow, the UK Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, saying: “The government is determined both to fight against unacceptable plastic waste which harms our environment and to ensure more materials can be reused instead of being thrown away. By investing in these truly revolutionary technologies, we will help push these efforts even further, and I look forward to seeing them grow and deliver real results. “

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New methods of dealing with plastic waste are desperately needed, with more than 8 million tonnes of plastic waste ending up in the ocean each year. In addition to destroying critical ocean ecosystems, these plastics break down into microplastics, which can now be found in almost every food system on Earth, including our drinking water, table salt, and even in the air.

But far from shrinking mountains of plastic, the problem is set to worsen, with plastic waste set to increase six-fold by 2030, eclipsing all current efforts to stem the crisis. The situation is likely to get even worse with oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Shell investing heavily in new plastic production.

But given their low cost and versatility, plastics are unlikely to be replaced by alternative materials on a large scale in the short term.

“Plastic will remain the preferred solution for many applications due to its utility, light weight and high adaptability, enabling fast-paced, industrial-scale consumer goods production processes,” said Mahon. . For this reason, he explained, recycling plastics more efficiently, in larger quantities, is the key to reducing their environmental impact – hence David Attenborough’s involvement.

“Our discussions with Sir David Attenborough focused on the contribution advanced recycling can make to tackling the non-recycled plastics we see in our environment, especially the oceans,” he said. “Sir David was happy to support the search for new solutions to the seemingly intractable problem with ocean plastics.”

In Europe, efforts are underway to address the plastic problem more systematically: in January, the EU introduced a plastic tax that charges businesses € 800 ($ 946) for every tonne of non-recycled plastic used. And from 2022, the UK government will start charging £ 200 ($ 274) per tonne for plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled content.

Such rules, Mahon said, could help make recycling more cost competitive.

“We think we can reach a point where we can compete with virgin materials on cost alone,” he said. “It’s really important if we’re going to make recycled content the preferred choice for the entire industry.”