Britain risks collecting more plastic for recycling than it can process domestically unless ‘urgent action’ is taken to rebuild UK recycling infrastructure, new research finds.
The research, carried out by Ceres Waste, Renewables & Environment, cautions that the UK’s plastics recycling capacity is under pressure at the same time as new policy reforms are set to increase the amount of plastic collected by councils, households and businesses.
This could increase reliance on export markets and leave councils exposed to higher waste and carbon costs, the report warns.
However, the Reimagining Recycling report, released by Viridor, found that with the right investment in recycling infrastructure, the UK could unlock significant economic and environmental benefits.
According to the research, creating the right investment conditions for UK plastics recycling could support the development of nearly 170 new facilities, create around 7,700 skilled jobs, and deliver £28 billion gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy by 2060.
The report found that investment in domestic recycling infrastructure could produce up to 100 million tonnes of recycled polymers by 2060, around 36 million tonnes more than under current projections.
By boosting recycling, the research also said the UK could reduce the amount of material sent to Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plants by around 10 million tonnes a year by 2060.
According to the report, this means local authorities have the potential to save around £4.1bn in projected costs from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for unabated CO2 emissions to 2060, a saving of around 59%.
Tim Rotheray, Chief Sustainability Officer at Viridor, commented: “Government policy is rightly asking councils, households and businesses to recycle more plastic. The risk is that without urgent investment, the UK will not have the domestic capacity needed to process that material here at home.”
“By creating the right conditions for investment, the UK can build the recycling infrastructure needed to support a circular economy, reduce reliance on exports, create thousands of green jobs and cut the cost of decarbonising waste.”
