UK plastics capacity falls while councils are being asked to recycle more

Britain risks collecting more plastic for recycling than it can process domestically unless urgent action is taken to rebuild UK recycling infrastructure, according to a new independent report published by resource recovery and recycling specialist Viridor.

The research, carried out by Ceres Waste, Renewables & Environment, warns that the UK’s plastics recycling capacity is under pressure at the same time as new policy reforms are set to increase the amount of plastic collected by councils, households and businesses.

The Reimagining Recycling report finds that creating the right investment conditions for UK plastics recycling could unlock a £5.9bn investment opportunity, support the development of nearly 170 new facilities, create approximately 7,700 skilled jobs and deliver £28bn gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy by 2060.

The research found that investment in domestic recycling infrastructure could produce up to 100 million tonnes of recycled polymers by 2060, around 36 million tonnes more than under current projections. This is enough plastic to fill Wembley Stadium around 50 times, helping the UK meet recycled content targets while reducing reliance on imported materials.

The report highlights that without action, the UK risks missing the economic and environmental benefits of recycling more plastic domestically, while increasing reliance on export markets and leaving councils exposed to higher waste and carbon costs.

By boosting recycling, the UK could reduce the amount of waste sent to Energy-from-Waste plants by around 10 million tonnes a year by 2060.

For local authorities there is also the potential to save around £4.1bn in projected Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) costs for unabated CO2 emissions to 2060, a saving of around 59%, through the diversion of plastics to recycling and the capture of fossil carbon emissions as CCS is rolled out.

Tim Rotheray, Chief Sustainability Officer at Viridor said:

“This report shows that the UK has a major opportunity to turn a growing plastics challenge into investment, jobs and lower emissions – but only if the right infrastructure is in place.

“Government policy is rightly asking councils, households and businesses to recycle more plastic. The risk is that without urgent investment, the UK will not have the domestic capacity needed to process that material here at home. By creating the right conditions for investment, the UK can build the recycling infrastructure needed to support a circular economy, reduce reliance on exports, create thousands of green jobs and cut the cost of decarbonising waste.”