OPINION: The UK’s approach to plastic waste is at a critical turning point. Without urgent policy reforms and investment in domestic recycling infrastructure, the country risks losing valuable resources, economic opportunities and its credibility in the global fight against plastic pollution.
As global leaders meet in Switzerland for the latest round of the Global Plastics Treaty talks, the UK has a real chance to lead on reducing plastic waste pollution – not just internationally but through concrete action at home.
At Biffa, we operate three polymer processing facilities across the UK, handling 165,000 tonnes of plastic annually. Serving more than 100,000 businesses and two million households, supported by over 11,000 employees. We know the potential for a robust domestic recycling sector. But despite this foundation, the sector faces significant challenges that require strong government intervention.
Recent parliamentary debates reflected broad consensus on the need for the UK to bolster its domestic recycling capacity. Central to this is phasing out the current practice of exporting large volumes of unprocessed plastic waste. The UK exports around 600,000 tonnes of unprocessed plastic waste annually, sending both raw materials and potential jobs overseas. This also creates environmental risk, with material potentially leaking into the environment – especially where a country’s infrastructure to reprocess the material is limited. The UK should only be exporting high-quality, reprocessed plastic ready for manufacturing, supporting global supply chains responsibly and sustainably.
Setting clear standards so that only properly processed plastics – washed, flaked, pelletised, and sorted by polymer type – are eligible for export will help elevate material quality and reduce pollution. This ensures recyclate is regarded as a valuable resource, rather than just waste.
Developing domestic reprocessing capacity is as essential. It keeps jobs in the UK, supports circular economy growth, and builds resilience in supply chains. But to achieve this, we must improve the quality of recycled materials and create stable, long-term demand within the UK market.
This is where changes to demand-side policies are critical, such as raising the recycled content threshold under the Plastic Packaging Tax to 50% by 2030 and incrementally increasing the tax rate, which would encourage manufacturers to incorporate more recycled plastic material into their products.
Reforming the current Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) and Packaging Export Recovery Note (PERN) system is also key. At present, the system unintentionally incentivises waste export rather than supporting domestic recycling infrastructure. As no quality testing of export material takes place, it is currently possible to export poor quality material and claim the full recovery note while a domestic processor may only claim on recovered material, forcing them to only process higher quality waste to remain cost efficient. Reform will help level the playing field and ensure materials are managed where they deliver the most economic and environmental benefit.
If implemented, these measures would help transform unprocessed plastic waste into a valuable, high-quality resource, replacing virgin plastics, reducing emissions, creating skilled jobs, and fostering more resilient, circular supply chains.
The UK has the technical expertise and industrial capacity to lead this transition. We encourage policymakers to visit facilities like our polymer plant in Redcar and to see the vital role domestic infrastructure can play.
Defra’s recent moves – including consultation on export reform and enhanced enforcement – are promising but must be followed by swift, clear legislative action. Only then can the UK stop exporting not just plastic waste but also its responsibility.
By taking decisive steps now, government can begin to build confidence in an investible and robust UK circular economy that delivers environmental benefits, economic growth and social value. The opportunity is clear, and the time to act is now.
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