Homewares 100% recycled 100% UK
Everything for the kitchen sink made from everything but...
Plastic throw-aways such as pots, tubs and trays once destined for landfill will soon make a clean-start comeback to the kitchen as recycled homeware range, ReBorn.
Nearly all UK homeware products are made from synthetic polymers and plastics imported from Asia—a highly carbon-intensive process counter-productive to UK net zero targets. And every year the UK bins an average 70 million items of homeware.
The £150k venture, ReBorn, will see waste plastics revived as factory-fresh, low-carbon, sustainable washing-up bowls, dishracks and drainers stylish enough to stock the shelves at John Lewis.
The radical circular sustainable way to make homeware is developed by Brunel University London, Biffa and Henley Marketing, backed by UK Research and Innovation.
"ReBorn promises to markedly reduce the number of virgin plastics the UK imports, and importantly, help promote a circular plastics economy", said Brunel University London's Dr. George Fern.
"This closed-loop approach will sizeably shrink the carbon footprint of the large UK homewares industry, and in doing so, help the UK reach its net zero carbon goals" added George, who leads the Wolfson Centre for Sustainable Materials Development and Processing.
The UKRI funding will fuel the first stage of the scheme set to create at least 32 new jobs nationwide within five years.
UK households' recyclable waste plastics will be collected by High-Wycombe=-based waste management company Biffa and made at a plant in Redcar into high-quality recycled polypropylene (PP) to form the ReBorn range. Chemical engineers at Brunel University London in Uxbridge will test the recycled plastic's properties. They'll check it's safe for home use, durable, long-lasting and crucially recyclable itself when no longer needed.
The Brunel team will also track the lifecycle of the process to investigate the benefits of using recycled plastics from a carbon emissions and resources consumption perspective. This will be a comparative analysis with conventional virgin plastic import-reliant homeware products manufacture.
Shoppers will be able to buy innovative products from leading UK retailer John Lewis this Autumn.
"We are excited to see the potential of ReBorn's novel approach to utilising recycled PP plastic for more sustainable outlets.
"It would be great to see food grade PP one day attaining the same closed loop circularity as post-consumer HDPE and PET plastics. Meanwhile it's great to know our material is being used for such a sustainable and impactful purpose."
More information:
For interviews and more, contact Hayley Jarvis, Senior Media Relations Officer, Brunel University London Hayley.jarvis@brunel.ac.uk
The funding for this project forms part of the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research programme (NICER) in support of SMEs for the circular economy
Biffa plc is the UK's second biggest waste management company. With UK-wide coverage, Biffa provides collection, treatment and processing, disposal and special waste services to both local authorities as well as industrial and commercial clients
Henley Marketing Ltd are experts in new product design, development & commercialisation of homeware products and brands in the UK and around the world
Provided by Brunel University