Plastic Packaging Use and Recycling Collection Rates Drop for the First Time

December 15, 2023

Plastic resource efficiency and recycling charity, RECOUP, has launched its annual UK Household Plastic Packaging Collection Survey, which estimates that year-on-year plastic packaging use and plastic packaging collection quantities have dropped for the first time.

It was estimated that there was reduction of around 70,000 tonnes in the quantity of household plastic packaging placed on the market in the UK, with quantities collected by local authorities at the kerbside also reducing by nearly 30,000 tonnes. Both have reduced by around 5%. There has also been a plateau in the development of kerbside provision, as all UK local authorities have collected plastic bottles for recycling at the kerbside since 2019, but only 88% collect plastic pots, tubs, and trays, the same as in 2021, and plastic films and flexibles dropping from 13% to 12%, the sixth year in a row this has decreased.