The UK Government has confirmed that councils in England won’t be required to perform kerbside collections of plastic films and flexible packaging from March 2027. Instead, the rule will now be introduced on the 1st April 2030. As a result, up to 846,000 tonnes of potential carbon savings are at risk. Simpler Recycling experts at BusinessWaste.co.uk have calculated the consequences of the three-year delay.
BusinessWaste.co.uk
UK Government delays plastic films and flexible packaging collections
The FlexCollect project, which tested flexible plastic collections across ten council areas, has estimated that just over 150,000 tonnes of flexible packaging could have been collected from households during 2027. This means that by 2030, over 450,000 tonnes of plastic could be affected.
However, this is just an estimate. Select councils could introduce flexible plastics collections before 2030; also, supermarket take-back schemes may continue during that time frame.
The waste industry has expressed its belief that the UK doesn’t have enough sorting and recycling capacity to deal with the amount of material these collections would generate. Additionally, some councils have raised concerns regarding the cost of changing collection services. This new ruling cannot work if there aren’t enough recycling plants to take the materials; the Government and waste industry now have three years to address the shortfall.
“The delay makes sense if councils cannot be confident that the plastic they collect will actually be recycled. Asking households to separate material only for it to be rejected or burned would quickly damage trust in the system. But with over three years until the 2030 deadline, the Government needs to set annual milestones for new sorting and reprocessing facilities, alongside clear information on where collected material will go to avoid further delays closer to the time,” said Mark Hall, Simpler Recycling Expert at BusinessWaste.co.uk. “For this to be effective, businesses also need certainty, as recycling facilities require time and investment, which may be prevented without clear plans. More can also happen in this time; councils that already have suitable recycling facilities shouldn’t be discouraged from introducing collections earlier, and retailers should make their take-back points easier to find and use.”
“The packaging itself also needs improvement. Manufacturers should use the extra time to simplify designs, remove unnecessary layers and avoid using hard-to-recycle materials. If the material being placed on the market continues to be difficult or uneconomical to process, simply changing the collection date will not solve the issue,” concluded Hall.