All of the plastic packaging that printed labels are attached to could be recycled in nine years' time.
This is according to new estimates from the European Association of Plastics Recycling and Recovery Organisations (EAPRRO), which based its prediction on the amount of plastic being saved from landfill last year, Plastics and Rubber Weekly reports.
Some 32.6 per cent of waste plastic was recycled in 2010, up from 30.3 per cent in 2009.
However, it is thought that new innovations and technology will be able to significantly boost this in the near future, meaning that all of the plastic produced will be able to be recycled by 2020.
"[This] is still possible. It is all about willingness and working together across the plastics supply chain to set the scene and move the agenda forward," a statement from EAPRRO said.
In 2010, the UK was one of 16 European Union nations that sent more than 30 per cent of its plastic to be reused.
Earlier in 2011, a study by Recoup (RECycling Of Used Plastics Limited) found that 76 per cent of HDPE milk bottles consumed and collected in Britain last year were recycled, suggesting that printed labels telling consumers how and where to recycle plastic milk bottles may have helped.
Denny Bros Ltd, 05 December 2011
