UK household plastic packaging collection and use dropped for the first time, reveals Recoup’s annual survey
15 Dec 2023 --- Plastic resource efficiency and recycling charity Recoup has released its annual UK Household Plastic Packaging Collection Survey, showing a considerable drop in year-on-year plastic packaging use and collection quantities in the UK for the first time.
The survey results estimate a reduction of approximately 70,000 metric tons in the quantity of household plastic packaging placed on the UK market. Moreover, quantities collected by local authorities at the curbside have decreased by nearly 30,000 metric tons, marking an overall 5% reduction. This marks a departure from the consistent year-on-year increase seen in previous surveys.
The overall collection rate for all household plastic packaging now stands at 42%, with 63% for plastic bottles, 39% for plastic pots, tubs and trays, and 7% for plastic films and flexibles. The UK’s overall recycling rate for plastic packaging from household and commercial sources is reported at 52%.
Tom McBeth, policy and infrastructure manager at Recoup, tells Packaging Insights that policy progress is the biggest hurdle in achieving high collection rates in the UK. “We have seen a stagnation in provision growth over recent years (pots, tubs and trays at curbside have been in place around 85–88% of councils for several years, while film has dropped to 12%). With Simpler Recycling timescales in place, local authorities can have at least some confidence in what they are introducing over the coming years.”
“This should help to capture a remaining portion of the councils not collecting pots, tubs and trays in England, and the vast amounts of films and flexibles that will come within scope. This may help solve the collection volumes, but the investment and development of reprocessing infrastructure will be needed to ensure something happens with it,” states McBeth.
Complexities and challenges
Recoup anticipates the release of the Simpler Recycling policy in October and the communication of dates for extended producer responsibility (EPR) and deposit return schemes (DRS) across the UK will offer local authorities an opportunity to plan for upcoming changes. However, the full establishment of payments from the new packaging EPR is still pending.
The UK’s overall recycling rate for plastic packaging from household and commercial sources is reported at 52%.
“As more information comes out concerning DRS, after a shaky year in 2023 (for Scotland, in particular), this may help engage citizens and see the infrastructure to develop to collect more valuable drinks containers,” says McBeth.
“Of course, any successful recycling will need economic factors to work, and the recycled plastic market across Europe has been extremely challenged this year. The short-term impact here will need to be addressed, as again, while we may collect better with the policy changes, the recycling part would struggle to be achieved without developing current infrastructure, let alone losing any current capacities.”
While policy initiatives are underway, the Recoup survey emphasizes that local authorities face challenges in unpicking their collection contracts and infrastructure complexities. The urgency to avoid further decline or stagnation in household plastic collections is underscored, especially with impending increases in recycling targets.
“We have found the changes by each nation [in the UK] to be largely proportionate. As with previous years, Wales has performed particularly well, but the overall waste arising has dropped the same in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland may have seen the added benefit of the introduction of its single-use ban back in 2022, over a year before England and Wales, but generally, we have seen little change on a country-by-country basis,” highlights McBeth.
Behavior insights
Recoup is concurrently launching its UK Citizen Plastics Recycling Behaviors Insights Survey 2023, revealing a 7% annual drop in citizens claiming to recycle plastic drink bottles every time, raising concerns about national recycling habits.
Anne Hitch, business and project development lead at Recoup, expresses concern about citizens’ uncertainty about what and how to recycle, stating: “If we are to gain ground in curbside tonnages and quality of plastics, investment in plastics recycling communications must be given priority.”
“While we continue to wait for supporting legislation, citizens remain uncertain about what to recycle in terms of plastics and how.”
The need for effective communication is demonstrated, with 32% of respondents admitting confusion about the recyclability of items. 
Recoup survey reveals a 7% annual drop in citizens claiming to recycle plastic drink bottles every time, raising concerns about national recycling habits.
Although 57% of local authorities conduct ongoing waste and recycling communication campaigns, inconsistencies persist, contributing to a slight increase in reject rates. “Significant inconsistency remains in messaging, including asking for lids to be on or off bottles, packaging to be empty, rinsed, washed, flattened or squashed,” Recoup notes.
UK plastics policies
The UK HM Revenues and Collection disclosed that it successfully amassed £276 million (US$351 million) in plastic packaging tax for the fiscal year 2022-23, surpassing its target by £41 million (US$52 million). Additionally, it revealed plans to escalate the tax in line with the Consumer Price Index, reaching £217.85 (US$273.38) per ton starting April 2024, aiming to encourage the use of recycled content in packaging.
However, McBeth expresses skepticism about the tangible impact of the tax on promoting recycled plastic use or collections. He notes concerns regarding recycled content claims, especially for imports. He raises issues about the funds not being reinvested to support the industry in a manner aligned with the tax’s intended purpose.
“It is hard to see conclusive proof that the tax has supported recycled plastic use or collections over the 18 months it has been in place,” stresses McBeth.
“In terms of the amount of material placed on the market, it may have incentivized some to look at other packaging options, particularly without EPR and other policy measures to help balance the need for the more positive environmental decision and simply move away from plastic to avoid the tax.”
“However, with the impact of other factors, particularly the cost-of-living crisis and the changes to packaging demand that will have caused (particularly for consumer packaging), it is hard to say for sure.”
While acknowledging limited progress in policy development aside from the Plastic Packaging Tax and single-use legislation, McBeth urges consideration of ongoing legislative discussions for EPR, DRS and Simpler Recycling.
“It may feel easy to criticize the lack of policy developments in recent years, and other than the Plastic Packaging Tax and single-use legislation, we have seen little concrete progress.”
“However, with legislative discussions for EPR, DRS and Simpler Recycling well underway, and the industry seemingly well engaged with the discussion, hopefully, 2024 will start to see the confidence built that these changes will be brought in soon, effectively and will help to achieve the environmental goals set all those years ago,” he concludes.
By Radhika Sikaria
