A ‘Bin-Win’ situation: New campaign at London Festival showcases how innovative UK business recycles previously unrecyclable plastic

Unique bins being trialled at Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Festival in Hyde Park to help revellers recycle troublesome plastics like bags, crisp wrappers and bottle lids they bring on site.

A new campaign is helping festival-goers to be even more environmentally minded this summer – thanks to unique British recycling technology that allows us to recycle previously unrecyclable plastic.

Single-use plastic is a hot topic around the festival season, as revellers leave behind mounds of unrecyclable plastic at music sites every year, of which a large amount is single-use food wrappers. Sixty British festivals have even pledged to go single-use free by 2021 – but outright bans don’t address the issue of what people bring on site and what to do with these often unrecyclable plastic items to keep them out of landfill and the eco-system.

A UK entrepreneur has an answer – and, with support from Barclays, it is proving to festival-goers this summer that many more plastics can be recycled, thanks to its patented technology.

Recycling Technologies – a tech-forward entrepreneurial company based in Swindon – has teamed up with Barclays to install 25 unique recycling bins at Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Festival in Hyde Park, to collect and recycle almost all of the previously unrecyclable plastic that is brought onto site by the public . The special recycling bins will be on-site from 8th-11th July 2019, to support the festival's already strong, recycling efforts; with staff helping to direct festival-goers to the recycling points.

From snack packets to pots, plastic bags to bottle caps, these bins will accept various forms of previously unrecyclable plastic, which will then be taken to Swindon and turned into ‘Plaxx’, a raw material used to create more usable – and importantly reusable or recyclable – plastic items.

The bins are being trialled at Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Festival to show the technology's potential at a large-scale event, but it has applications anywhere single-use plastic is used and discarded.

If every recycling centre in the UK used Recycling Technologies machines, the percentage of plastic waste that is recycled in the UK would go from c10% towards 90%4

The campaign hopes to collect 4400 litres of plastic at the festival, saving it from being wasted – essentially giving plastic a second chance at life.

Existing plastic recycling systems are perfect for recycling mainly bottles, but Recycling Technologies’ unique system means that more plastics are turned back into new packaging and products – which keeps the plastic out of the ecosystem and ensures it continues to play a useful role.

Juliet Rogan, Head of High-Growth Entrepreneurs, Barclays said: “Barclays is proud to support Recycling Technologies, and other innovative high growth UK businesses. We know that great businesses are often created by coming up with ways of solving the really important problems that people care about, such as the damage of single-use plastic.

“This is why we’re working with Recycling Technologies on this new initiative to show people what is now possible with plastic – and that small actions such as recycling a plastic bag can have a huge impact on the environment. We want to help are keen to support many more high-growth entrepreneurs who create real social and environmental change – as well as growth and jobs for the UK economy.”

Elena Parisi, Sales & Marketing Director at Recycling Technologies said: “Plastic recycling is our business but also our passion – our machine turns plastic waste into high-grade, useful raw materials, which means it stays out of landfill and doesn’t harm the environment.

"Some plastics are vital to keep food fresh and healthcare safe, so our aim is to help ensure that this needed plastic is recycled. With the right support from companies such as Barclays, we can help plastic all across the UK get a second, third, fourth chance at life. We urge everyone visiting the festival this summer to bin the plastic they bring with them – and help do their part to make single-use a thing of the past.”

These bins are one of a line of initiatives to showcase the positive impact of small UK businesses that are using technology to solve societal and environmental issues. Over the next five years, entrepreneurs working with Barclays through the Unreasonable Impact programme will aim to add 16,000 jobs to the UK5

Barclays is committed to backing the UK through supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs, who represent the future of UK jobs and growth. Barclays helps start a new business every 4 minutes, and nearly one million small and medium-sized businesses have been provided with guidance, financial support and more, including 100 Brexit workshops across the UK. The bank also recently launched a £14bn lending fund, to help UK businesses navigate the next three years.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

About Barclays, Backing the UK and Unreasonable Impact

When the societies where we operate succeed, Barclays succeeds. That is why, for over three centuries, we have risen to the challenges that our communities face, and played our part.

And our commitment to backing the UK has never been more important.

Amongst the one million UK businesses we support each day, we’re helping a group of high growth entrepreneurs aiming to solve some of the world’s biggest societal and environmental challenges.

These entrepreneurs see that dealing with these challenges can also be enormous business opportunities. And with our support, they can continue to scale their innovations to help to solve these challenges and create new jobs in the UK.

These solutions are as dramatic as the problems they address, whether it’s purifying air with nanotechnology, recycling previously unrecyclable plastics or creating low emission bio-fuel from waste cooking oil. Barclays is supporting these entrepreneurs through the Unreasonable Impact programme, which since inception in 2016 has supported 32 UK organisations, which in the next 5 years will aim to generate 16,000 new jobs.

This is just one of many examples of how Barclays is Backing the UK. Whether it be supporting growing UK business, launching a £14bn lending fund for SME’s, or delivering over 100 Brexit clinics in local communities; Barclays is committed to Backing the UK.

About Barclays

Barclays is a transatlantic consumer and wholesale bank offering products and services across personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management, with a strong presence in our two home markets of the UK and the US.

With over 325 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 40 countries and employs 83,500 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

For further information about Barclays, please visit our website www.home.barclays

About Recycling Technologies

Recycling Technologies Ltd is creating value from residual plastic waste on a global scale. Recycling Technologies has developed a process to economically recycle mixed plastic waste – that is currently disposed of in landfill or incinerators – into a valuable hydrocarbon product, named Plaxx®, with multiple uses in the wax and petrochemical sectors. Award-winning Plaxx® can be used by polymer manufacturers to make new plastic thereby propelling plastic into the circular economy.

Recycling Technologies has an operational pre-production machine at Swindon’s Waterside Depot and opened an assembly facility in Swindon, from where its patented machinery will be mass produced. The RT7000 is modular and easily transported to enable waste operators and local authorities to recycle plastics at source, including plastics that are currently sent to landfill and incineration such as films, plastic bags, laminated plastics (i.e. crisp packets), and caps and closures.

Some of the UK’s leading experts in engineering, energy, waste management and commercial operations make up the Recycling Technologies team, advisory panel and board. With an innovative distributed approach, Recycling Technologies has the potential to quickly scale to a meaningful global presence in the world of plastics recycling. For further information, please visit recyclingtechnologies.co.uk

For media enquiries please contact:

Paula Elliott
Recycling Technologies Media Office
Tel: + 44 (0) 1189 497736
Email: paula@c8consulting.co.uk

Isabel Allanwood
Barclays Group Media Relations
Tel: +44 (0) 207 116 9441