WHAT WE DO
You collect plastic waste from
rivers, canals, lakes or sea
We ensure it gets recycled
keeping it out of landfill
We all get new products
There are a huge number of passionate volunteer groups nationwide that help clean and maintain our aquatic environments that do amazing work but there is an issue when it comes to those plastics removed from the waterways and beaches. After being collected the majority of reclaimed aquatic plastics are fouled with algae that makes them unlikely to be recycled and most ends up in landfill or being incinerated.
But what if there was a route for these to be recycled?
This is where ReAP comes in and offers a route to recycling in the UK for all the plastics collected through your hard work.
ReCOVER
Once involved with ReAP, volunteer groups are encouraged to separate any form of plastics from other rubbish when they carry out clean up events. ReAP, who are licenced waste transporters, will collect the plastics at the end of the event and take it away to one of our storage hubs. As part of our support, we can also take aluminium cans and other similar items.
ReCYCLE
One of the main issues in returning plastics for recycling is that plastic items, such as bottles, take up a large volume but weighs very little meaning that it is expensive to transport.
Once at the storage hub it is sorted and any plastics that are directly recyclable are separated from the mixed fouled plastics. Both are then processed using a granulator / shedding machine to ensure the maximum weight of plastic can be transported to our recycling partners in the smallest volume. This is both financially sensible and means a smaller carbon footprint.
ReTURN
Once processed by the recycler ReAP aims to return useful items such as recycling stations, display boards and benches to the areas where the material was collected. This gives us a truly circular system that benefits those areas originally polluted with plastics.
Note: We currently have storage hubs in Sussex and The Colne Valley (Hertfordshire) but plan to spread nationwide as soon as possible.