­­Proposals to increase UK recycling of plastic food packaging

• In the UK, over 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging enter the consumer market each year.
• Much of this is used in the food sector because plastic packaging is cheap, light to transport, hygienic, and can be used to extend the products shelf-life.
• In the UK around 46% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, mostly through local authority collections.
• This POSTbrief reviews proposals to Defra and HM Treasury to improve plastics recycling in the UK .

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• In the UK, over 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging enter the consumer market each year.
• Much of this is used in the food sector because plastic packaging is cheap, light to transport, hygienic, and can be used to extend the products shelf-life.
• In the UK around 46% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, mostly through local authority collections.
• For example there is wide variation in plastic materials currently in the market.
• Some widely used plastics are non-recyclable, while others complicate the recycling process.
• The poor economics of recycling further complicate systems, often leading to the export of collected materials.
• Finally the market for reusing recycled materials is limited, as often new (virgin) plastic is cheaper to make and of higher quality than recycled plastic.
• Other countries such as France and Belgium have rejected such initiatives, due to concerns of inefficiency.