Investment platform launched by ecosurety in 'giant step' towards circular economy

by Roger Aitken—Circularety, an online platform empowering obligated producers and reprocessors to invest in tangible recycling projects and schemes, has been launched by ecosurety, the UK’s leading resource efficiency specialist with services including environmental compliance, waste and resource management. 

 

Producers and reprocessors can now sign up to what is dubbed as a “revolutionary platform” that enables Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) obligation money to be transparently invested. 

 

Obligated producers must purchase a PRN in order to comply with the Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulations in the UK to prove that packaging waste has been recycled.? 

 

An “obligated producer” is any company handling in excess of 50 tonnes of packaging waste that also has a turnover of £2 million. Since being created in 2007, over £565m has been spent on PRNs with c.£100m in 2015, a year that saw prices across all materials fluctuate on 'average' by 653%. 

 

Showing companies governed by Producer Responsibility Obligation Regulations exactly where and how PRN money is being invested, Circularety additionally empowers obligated producers and reprocessors to invest in tangible recycling projects and schemes and to communicate about them.? 

 

It also enables producers to present detailed PRN expenditure to the board, and publicise CSR and environmental credentials in relation to significant sums of PRN money spent every year. 

 

Reprocessors will be able to use the platform to showcase concrete projects that producers can invest in using their PRN obligation money. In this way reprocessors can attract larger sums for investment. 

 

With Circularety, for the first time producers will be able to choose exactly where their PRN money is spent, and reprocessors will be able to put forward concrete investment projects that will benefit the recycling industry.? 

 

"We anticipate Circularety will remove price volatility from the PRN system caused by uncertainty over PRN supply and demand," said James Piper, managing director of ecosurety.