BPF Publishes New Plastics Recycling Roadmap

An entirely new edition of the British Plastics Federation’s Recycling Roadmap has just been published, which presents the latest UK data for plastic recycling and up-to-date forecasts of what the UK can achieve over the next ten years. It also identifies key areas that need to change for this to happen. The report was produced in collaboration with RECOUP.  

The document notes that nearly four years after the first edition was published, many of the required changes first mentioned in 2021 still have not happened. This is due to delays in implementing key policies as well as particularly challenging economic circumstances. Achieving a recycling rate of 69% by 2030 (as outlined in the first edition) will take longer, it argues, and still requires urgent collective action from the government and industry, as well as support from the public.

The new edition highlights the need for more government support to increase investment in the UK’s recycling infrastructure. This includes both support for mechanical and chemical recycling. The forecast highlights that the amount of material chemically recycled within the UK by 2030 is 200kT lower than the first roadmap indicated, although the document notes that 400kT of chemically recycled material is possible by 2035, if certain obstacles are overcome (the most notable being the need to clarify whether mass balance methodology is acceptable within the scope of Plastic Packaging Tax).

The forecast, which was put together using a scenario-based approach, emphasises that a lot can still be achieved within a decade, however. A 70% reuse and recycling rate can be achieved by 2035, with an extra 23% of total plastic waste being mechanically recycled within the UK and an extra 6% being chemically recycled. By then, 15% less plastic could be sent to energy recovery facilities and 13% of the UK’s total plastic waste could be reused. Achieving this would save one million tonnes of carbon (CO2e) emissions when compared to a worst-case scenario.

The new edition of the BPF Recycling Roadmap argues that achieving this requires three things:

• Increasing investment
• Optimising legislation and existing systems
• Improving communication and collection systems

Within each of the points above, detailed information about the required changes is provided.

BPF Sustainability Manager Helen Jordan states:

“The forecasts within the new BPF Recycling Roadmap present milestones that are achievable but also deliberately ambitious. The UK could be a leading nation when it comes to the sound management of plastic waste if there is a step change in how we perceive plastic items that have reached the end of their first life. We call upon the government to help the UK achieve its true potential as an environmentally conscientious nation with optimised waste management practices. We could recycle so much more plastic waste within the UK if improvements to existing systems and legislation create the right atmosphere to increase investment.”

RECOUP’s Sustainability & Circularity Manager Irina Ankudinova states:

“The BPF Recycling Roadmap provides a systemic overview of plastic recycling, highlighting opportunities and challenges in maximising plastic material circularity in the UK. The roadmap demonstrates the potential to achieve an ambitious future vision, while also drawing attention to the potential negative consequences of inaction. We view the roadmap as a valuable tool for promoting collaboration between the government, businesses, and citisens to achieve a plastic recycling system that we all can be proud of.”

The BPF Recycling Roadmap is available to download for free at: bpf.co.uk/roadmap

Read more from the BPF here.