Viridor says chemical recycling in UK and Europe ‘uninvestable’
Posted on May 22, 2026 by DrRossH in Plastic Recycling
UK-based waste management firm Viridor is considering closing its advanced plastics recycling facilities in Europe, saying policy changes are needed if investment in the sector is to continue.
Source: Viridor says chemical recycling in UK and Europe ‘uninvestable’
The announcement follows stark warnings of “imminent collapse” in the sector from trade associations due to low demand, high operating costs and cheap imports.
How many times in the last 50 years have we learned that plastic is not going to get recycled in any real quantities. Either make it biodegradable or stop using this last forever product. See Biogone.com.au

How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter? 
Discussion · No Comments
There are no responses to "Viridor says chemical recycling in UK and Europe ‘uninvestable’". Comments are closed for this post.Oops! Sorry, comments are closed at this time. Please try again later.