As manufacturers of all kinds look to make their new products better for the environment, the demand for recycled plastics has grown in recent years. And supermarkets have emerged as an important source for the next generation of recycled polymers.
Thousands of bread crates and tote storage boxes are used to transport products from supplier to supermarket, supermarket to customer every year. As things stand, when these crates are broken or worn out, they end up in a general waste stream or recycled into lower grade applications.
Fortunately, there is another option. As a leading plastics recycler, MBA Polymers UK can utilise its nationwide logistics network to collect this material, extract the high-quality polypropylene (pp) it contains, and create high quality, high specification recycled alternatives to virgin plastics. A versatile and strong plastic, MBA’s recycled polypropylene is used by the construction, electronics and packaging industries and can be found in everything from plant pots to vacuum cleaners or back into brand-new crates and tote boxes.
Over the past 10 years, MBA has diverted more than 250,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastics from landfill and the expertise our teams have developed enables us to produce recycled plastics to the exact specifications individual customers require.
As our teams are turning these boxes and crates into an in-demand sustainable material, MBA is able to pay supermarkets up to £300 per tonne – turning a cost into a revenue stream.
Once our teams collect these crates from stores or distribution hubs and deliver them to our recycling centres across the UK, this material is separated and processed using a range of state-of-the-art technologies, offering truly circular, open and closed loop solution to plastic waste.
Our in-house purity testing technology – and ability to provide a full Certificate of Analysis for every batch – ensures every one of our products is both REACH and RoHS compliant and tested to ISO standards, giving our customers the confidence to use recycled plastic in a huge range of applications.
Whether we buy material, supply recycled polymers, or both, every company MBA works with rightly demands the highest levels of quality, traceability, safety and environmental protection.
Delivering on this is made easier by MBA being part of EMR, providing a large quantity of consistent and high-quality feedstock – as well as a track record of innovation and a broad spectrum of recycling capabilities.
For customers, this offers a ‘one stop shop’ with one trusted group recycling, reusing and repurposing everything from plastics and metals to WEEE, wind turbines and even rare earth magnets. Beyond simply meeting compliance requirements, MBA customers can access consultancy and services that accelerate sustainability strategies and help them to leave a positive impact on the world around them.
For example, supermarkets who work with MBA can now also benefit from one of its social value initiatives in which our teams collect, process, and sell on recycled plastic from on-site collection points – donating all monies made to a supermarket’s chosen charity. MBA Polymers UK will even handle all of the paperwork.
It's just one more way that working with MBA can add value to your business.