All local authorities in England were expected to start collecting these materials from the kerbside from 31 March 2027 under the Simpler Recycling regulations.
Defra has confirmed today that the requirement will be pushed back to 2030, after the industry expressed concerns over valid end markets.
The delay will likely be welcomed across the sector, which has been vocal over its concerns that available domestic capacity and demand would not be able to support the influx of flexibles.
Gareth Rollings, Chair of the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), said: “LARAC welcomes the Government’s intention to move the mandatory collection date for plastic films and flexibles to 1 April 2030.
“This reflects the concerns that our members have consistently raised about the readiness of the wider system and the financial and operational consequences for local authorities.”
“Councils remain committed to delivering effective recycling services, but they need a system that is properly funded and supported by viable sorting, reprocessing and end-market capacity.
“The additional three years must now be used constructively by government and industry to build that infrastructure and provide local authorities with the clarity they need to plan.”
It is understood that the official Simpler Recycling regulations will be updated in the next parliamentary period.
The legislation applies to material such as crisp packets, bread bags and “bags for life”.
FlexCollect trials and launch of FlexCircular
Concluding in September 2025, the FlexCollect report consolidated over three years of learnings from the trial collection of flexibles across 10 pilot local authorities.
While the trials showed promising results for collections, the report authors expressed concerns that that there is insufficient recycling capacity to meet upcoming demand.
The project was managed by environmental consultancy Ecosurety in collaboration with Suez recycling and recovery UK, RECOUP and WRAP.
Last month, a follow-up initiative called “FlexCircular” was launched.
It will look to undertake “comprehensive research” to establish the scale of investment required across the UK to recycle up to 400,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic packaging annually by 2030.
The project will receive support from Suez Recycling and Recovery UK, CEFLEX, WRAP and RECOUP.
Gareth Morton, Discovery Manager at Ecosurety and FPF lead, said: “We’re delighted to build on the success of the FPF FlexCollect project and continue to work alongside experts in the industry to take flexible plastics recycling to the next level.
“FPF FlexCircular is about turning the proof of collections into a real, investable circular system.
“By understanding what the UK needs in terms of investment, infrastructure and policy, we can maximise the opportunity to recycle flexible plastics at scale, creating benefits for industry, consumers, and the environment alike.”
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