Plastic bottle recycler Closed Loop is jumping on the bandwagon of events that put the capital in focus – such as the recent Jubilee celebrations and the forthcoming Olympics – to move plastic bottle recycling up the agenda. With funding during these tough economic times difficult to come by, it is trying a new tactic – ‘word of mouth’. 

It has persuaded Boris to raise the issue with the London boroughs and has designed a logo featuring the Union Jack with the slogan ‘We need your bottles’ – reminiscent of Second World War campaign posters. The logo has been launched ready for National Recycling Week, which starts on Monday. 

Boris said: “Taking time to chuck your unwanted plastic bottles into the recycling bin, rather than your rubbish bin, is not only good for the environment, but great for our wallets too. Recycling saves Londoners money, with the added bonus of creating jobs in London.” 

“Boris has pledged to talk about bottle recycling and help raise its profile,” Closed Loop’s ceo Chris Dow told edie. “He’s been talking to the London boroughs and the next thing he could do is use the weight of his personality and bring it to the general public’s attention.” 

Around 1.8m tonnes of post-consumer plastics are generated each year in the UK, with almost a third – 580,000 tonnes – comprising plastic bottles. Yet around half of these still end up in landfill. Dow added: “People are consumed with how we are going to meet new plastic recycling targets. Recycling plastic bottles are a ‘low hanging fruit’. 

“It’s not something that is hard to achieve – 90% of us have plastic bottles collected at the kerbside. It’s about raising awareness.” 

He added that if the 300,000 tonnes of plastic bottles, currently landfilled, were recycled this would create “thousands” of jobs. “Consumers need to realize that if they put more plastic bottles in the system then people like us will build new plants,” said Dow.

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