Bottle to Bottle recycling

Bottle to bottle recycling is also known as closed loop recycling. This is where waste HDPE bottles are collected and reprocessed to enable them to be used again for HDPE bottles. Closed loop recycling is widely agreed to be one of the best forms of recycling.

Many companies, including leading plastic milk bottle manufacturer Nampak, are currently investing in the technology and plants to be able to complete this recycling loop in the UK. Millions of pounds are being spent to build plants to reprocess bottles - where waste bottles are recycled so they can be used again for food products - or to take the recycled material and put it back in milk bottles.

The first sites to reprocess food grade HDPE opened in 2008 and during 2009, plastic milk bottles with up to 10% recycled material were available on the shelves. The dairy industry has committed to increasing the levels of recycled HDPE in milk bottles up to 30% by 2015. This has been laid out in a document called the Milk Roadmap.