UK plastic packaging recycling infrastructure: Recommendations for circularity
Our latest white paper sets out the urgent government action needed to secure a resilient, circular plastics reprocessing system for the UK.
A pivotal moment - but a huge opportunity
Our new white paper, created in partnership with RECOUP, reveals that the UK is at a critical turning point for plastic packaging recycling – with current operational reprocessing capacity only covering around 23% of what is needed to recycle all plastic packaging placed on the market.
The white paper – ‘UK plastic packaging recycling infrastructure: Recommendations for circularity’ - provides a comprehensive evidence base to date on the state of UK plastics reprocessing, including input from industry, analysis of UK and global policy, and scenario modelling.
The research confirms that without intervention, the UK risks losing the majority of its remaining plastic reprocessing infrastructure by 2030. Over 200,000 tonnes of capacity has already been lost since 2024 due to volatile markets, policy uncertainty and high operational costs.
