Consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) has signed a deal with waste management firm Viridor to source a five-year supply of post-consumer recycled plastic (HDPE). The arrangement is going to save the equivalent of 200 million bottles worth of virgin plastic from having to be used.
The move is part of P&G’s efforts to halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses by 2030. This initiative was set in 2018 (against a 2017 baseline) via the company’s membership to The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, of which Viridor is also a member.
HDPE supplied under the deal will come from post-consumer sources that have been processed by any one of Viridor’s three specialist plastic recycling facilities (in Skelmersdale, Rochester, and Avonmouth) in the UK. P&G will receive the plastic as feedstock from the firm and use it for the manufacture of home cleaning product packaging.
Over 300 million bottled across its European household cleaning brands will be converted to either 100% recycled or partially recycled plastic annually. Ariel liquid detergent bottles will rise to 50% recycled content by the end of 2020 and transparent Lenor fabric conditioner bottles to 100%.
This deal will accelerate P&G’s progress towards its 2030 goal, remarked the company’s purchases group manager, Adam Selby. It will also stimulate Viridor’s commitment to scaling up the UK market for recycled plastics.
Keith Trower, Viridor’s managing director for resource management, said:
Viridor has been supplying P&G with post-consumer recycled material for the past three years, with volumes steadily increasing to meet P&G’s growing sustainability targets. Quality control is crucial to our recycling operations – this is how we ensure we can offer manufacturers competitive alternative circular economy stock as opposed to their sourcing virgin stock.
Viridor is committed to delivering quality to the circular economy. Quality control is crucial to our recycling operations – this is how we ensure we can offer manufacturers competitive alternative circular economy stock as opposed to their sourcing virgin stock. The true measure of success is reflected in seeing our product on supermarket shelves.
Simon Hicks, Viridor’s MD of recycling, added:
Our investment in sophisticated recycling infrastructure will not end here. We have been very clear about our commitment to investment, innovation, and collaboration to drive the circular economy in the UK, with this program reflecting the clear preference for recycled material.
Viridor also struck similar deals with Unilever, packaging producer Klöckner Pentaplast in December, and chemicals firm INEOS in November. The firm will likely engage in many more agreements as demand for recycled plastic is expected to soar thanks to legislation on minimum recycled content and extended producer responsibility measures kicking in.
