Based in Chester, the company has teamed up with vehicle manufacturer Toyota to launch the scheme. The cars will have a long range and won't require lengthy recharging like the "green" battery-operated cars, as they can just be refuelled in the normal way.
The scheme will see Waste2tricity and Toyota open up 100 new UK refuel cycling stations, where used plastic cartons can also be converted into clean hydrogen fuel to run the vehicles.
© vladstar / Adobe Stock
Plastic bag waste
The subject of plastic bags has been a hot topic of debate for some time, as dumped plastic waste is polluting the environment - and our oceans in particular. In an effort to encourage recycling and the reuse of plastic bags, supermarkets have been charging 5p per disposable bag since 2015.
The government scheme has seen the use of disposable plastic bags decrease by 86% since its introduction, according to figures revealed by seven of the UK's biggest supermarkets. Money raised from the sale of plastic bags is donated to charity and to date, it has raised more than £58.5 million for worthy causes.
It was announced in 2018 that Prime Minister Theresa May was set to change the rules relating to the sale of disposable plastic bags to further aid the planet. She is expected to announce the price will double to 10p per bag this year; this will likely extend to all major high street retailers.
Currently, only retail outlets with more than 250 staff have to charge for plastic bags. Under the new legislation, the charge would extend to every shop, large or small.
Ocean crisis
Dumped plastic in our oceans has reached crisis point. Researchers say on average, four family shopping trips can accumulate 60 plastic bags. Each year, people dump 6.4 million tonnes of waste plastic into the ocean.
It is estimated that if all the plastic bags dumped in the sea were joined end-to-end, they would stretch around the world 4,200 times!
In an effort to stem the rising tide of waste, government ministers also announced they were looking at a ban on the sale of plastic stirrers and straws. In addition to this they are also considering a deposit scheme to encourage people to recycle drinks bottles and cans.
In 2018 a survey was conducted on the reduced usage of disposable carrier bags to measure the effect the scheme was having, though this yielded positive results it is still early days.
Data compiled over the past 25 years logging the number of plastic bags found on the seabed in UK waters showed the number had gradually decreased since 2015. The research was carried out by analysing the debris collected in almost 2,500 ocean trawls, between 1992 and 2017.
Plastic-fuelled cars
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are already on the road in other countries. There are 6,500 such vehicles on the roads, with 50% of these in the United States and 33% in Japan. It is estimated this number will increase to 40,000 over the next two years.
The UK government has announced it will invest £23 million in hydrogen fuel technology. While in Germany plans are in the pipeline to build 4000 hydrogen fuel stations between now and 2023.
Waste2tricity says 25 tons of plastic waste can produce enough hydrogen to fuel a car for 60,000 miles. The UK has been exporting 500,000 tons of plastic waste to China every year, but Waste2tricity has pledged that its first 100 forecourts will be converting more than that amount every year into clean fuel and electricity.
The company has patented its method of producing the fuel by heating plastic waste (including plastic bags and bottles) in a kiln until it turns into hydrogen gas. The only waste product from the process is clean water.
Recycling plastics
Solent Plastics stocks a large range of high-quality plastic products. As a responsible company, we promote recycling and often resell used plastic boxes.
We sell a range of Euronorm ECO recycled plastic Euro containers made from recycled polypropylene that is suitable for home and commercial use.
We also sell recycling waste bins to help schools, businesses and organisations with their recycling endeavours.
If we all work together, we can save our planet.