RECOUP UK Plastic Packaging Collection Survey Outlines “Monumental” Challenge

Plastic resource efficiency and recycling charity, RECOUP, has launched its annual UK Household Plastic Packaging Collection Survey, which has outlined the monumental scale of the challenge ahead.

Whilst there have been incremental improvements across the board for kerbside service provision for plastic packaging, the scale to include other formats in collection services in a relatively short timescale is unprecedented, but one that is entirely achievable with the right drive, funding, planning and leadership.

With all UK local authorities collecting plastic bottles as part of their kerbside service in 2019, local authorities providing kerbside service provision for plastic pots, tubs and trays increased from 88% to 89% and 12% to 14% for plastic films and flexibles, the first increase after 6 consecutive years of decline. This means another 39 local authorities need to collect plastic pots, tubs and trays and 312 for plastic films and flexibles by March 2027 to comply with requirements – just over 2 years away.

Consistency of Inconsistency in Citizen Communications

Effective communications to citizens are an essential part of this process, and whilst local authorities are making significant efforts – 60% reporting they have an ongoing or continuous citizen communication campaign about plastic packaging recycling – packaging EPR funding needs to strengthen the resources to delivery these campaigns. The 2024 Survey found local authorities reported an average material reject rate of 14%, and helping to deal with issues such as contamination will be pivotal.

However, although Simpler Recycling in England and similar approaches in other nations will provide consistency of what can be placed for recycling, the 2024 Survey found there is a comprehensive inconsistency in messaging across the UK, both in the language used and instructions given.

For example, when looking at plastic bottle lids, 40% of local authorities ask for citizens to leave lids on bottles but 13% ask for them to be left off. 12% listed lids as separate target items, however, did not specify if they should be left on the bottle or not, 5% said that they can be either on or off the bottle, and the remaining 30% do not provide any guidance.

Other examples of instructions to residents will need to be adjusted to fit new policy requirements. 54% of local authorities ask for plastic bottles to be flattened or squashed, but with a DRS planned to be implemented in October 2027, this message might cause confusion as it is likely plastic bottles shouldn’t be presented in this way in a deposit return system.

The biggest common message is 85% specifying that items should be empty, rinsed and/or washed, with 53% asking for items to be disposed of loose and not bagged.

Steve Morgan, Head of Policy & Infrastructure at RECOUP, said: “Whereas the different instructions need to reflect local sorting and processing requirements, it’s in the benefits of consumers and all stakeholders to have simple, consistent national communications messages about how to present plastics for recycling. Packaging EPR and Deposit Return Schemes, through their respective Scheme Administrator and Deposit Management Organisation leadership, should build on the requirements of Simpler Recycling and provide the foundations and influence to enable one unified core set of messages about how to recycle.”.

Impact of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)

Another key finding around communications in the 2024 RECOUP Survey wasn’t to residents but around local authority funding. With the focus on packaging EPR to provide the funding to collect and sort packaging, the impact of another policy needs greater awareness and urgent and robust plans to mitigate its impact.

The ETS is a market-driven mechanism that limits the emissions an involved industry is allowed to produce, with the intention to incentivise the development and uptake of decarbonisation technologies or practices to reduce emissions. The scheme is expanding to include waste incineration and energy from waste from 2028, preceded by a 2-year transitional period from 2026, and will significantly impact the dynamics of local authority funding. To reduce this impact, removing plastic packaging from residual waste will be key.

The 2024 RECOUP Survey found that around a third of local authorities (32%) said they were not aware of the upcoming expansion of ETS and its impact on incineration and energy recovery of local authority waste. Furthermore, when asked how prepared they felt for the changes to ETS on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being not prepared at all, and 10 being fully prepared), 37% gave a score of 3 or below, indicating they do not feel confident about how it will operate. Only 12% gave a 7 or higher with no local authorities giving a score of 10.

The 2024 RECOUP UK Household Plastic Packaging Collection Survey report is available for RECOUP members to download, with the Data Summary available for non-members here.

RECOUP Updates Recyclability by Design Guidelines Amid Rising Compliance Costs and Financial Impact of Extended Producer Responsibility

Following its original release in 2006, RECOUP, the UK’s leading independent authority and trusted voice on plastics resource efficiency and recycling, has regularly updated its flagship publication, Recyclability by Design (RBD). The latest update comes at a critical time for packaging recyclability with the impending increase of compliance costs associated with Extended Producer Responsibility. There is now a positive financial driver to make packaging fully recyclable and to progress circular economy ambitions. The financial implications of not adhering to recyclability standards, such as those set out by RECOUP, will significantly increase compliance costs and lowers organisations’ sustainability credentials.

RECOUP’s Head of Packaging Recycling and Design, Paul East, commented; “RBD is a reminder of the importance of designing for recycling, when making decisions, as well as for marketing and brand recognition. By using the recommendations within RBD, you will be ensuring that your plastic packaging is given the best chance to be recycled in line with upcoming legislation.”

RECOUP has worked tirelessly to promote the core principles and good practice in pack design that give plastics packaging a greater chance of being recycled within the existing UK infrastructure, with RBD offering guidelines to help Packaging Technologists and Buyers ensure that their plastic is presented in the best way possible to the recycling chain.

There are continuous changes to recycling processes technology, and innovation continues in the packaging industry to help alleviate some of the challenges faced by recyclers.  With valuable contributions from RECOUP members and colleagues from across the industry, RBD is agile and is continuously reviewed and updated to reflect these changes, including updated polymer-specific recyclability tables.

The updated Recyclability by Design guidance is available to view on the RECOUP website.

RECOUP Calls for a more Effective Plastic Packaging Tax

Plastics resource efficiency and recycling charity, RECOUP, has called for a more effective Plastic Packaging Tax in its new position statement.

As of April 2024, the tax is applied at a cost of £217.85 per tonne for plastic packaging placed on the UK market that is not claimed to contain 30% recycled content. However, there have been a number of issues identified during the two years the tax has been in place.

An unintended consequence of the Plastic Packaging Tax is happening right now.

The Plastic Packaging Tax was set up as an ‘environmental tax’, but there have been many examples of where packaging claims to meet 30% recycled content to avoid paying the tax – with some examples either not being technically possible or cleverly using the term ‘pre-consumer’ material that might not actually have any recycled content at all.

Simply put, claims of recycled content is not being sufficiently verified or enforced, particularly for packaging (filled and unfilled) that is imported into the UK.

Calls for the cost or 30% percentage of the tax are not sufficient to incentivise use of recycled content, but if these increase without proper enforcement, false claims of recycled content will inevitably also increase, and UK recyclers could further struggle in already acutely challenging commercial conditions.

Steve Morgan, Head of Policy & Infrastructure at RECOUP said: “An incentive to include recycled content, even if it has to be a tax, is a force for good as long as it’s properly enforced. However, the UK imports around half the plastic packaging it places onto the market, and this includes packaging with claims of recycled content.

“Lack of enforcement is increasingly making the UK recyclers commercially unviable due to having to compete with cheap imports of virgin packaging and packaging with recycled content from countries with significantly lower cost base and greater access to material.

If these false claims, particularly from imported material continue, we could see a collapse of the plastic packaging recycling system in the UK as we know it, and urgent action is needed.”

Lack of enforcement also means HMRC are losing revenue for an unknown quantity of packaging that does not contain 30% recycled content. That revenue, of course, is leaving our recycling systems, and an opportunity remains to align with packaging EPR and include recycled content as part of the eco-modulation framework, and thus incorporating a more holistic environmental impact of the packaging. Revenue like this for including recycled content, if ring fenced for the reprocessing sector, would provide game changing technical strengthening and ultimately commercial transformation for UK plastic packaging recyclers.

With packaging EPR and the Plastic Packaging Tax there are significantly increased administrative burdens on producers and users of plastic packaging. Any use of an enforcement and verification framework will have an impact on producers and users of plastic packaging and changes should ensure, as much as possible, that no avoidable burdens are placed on these businesses.

RECOUP also calls for an urgent review and overhaul of the Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) system to provide a more stable, commercially supportive and modulated PRN for plastic packaging formats where targeted funding is needed the most.

RECOUP’s new position statement, Considerations & Recommendations for a more Effective Plastic Packaging Tax can be downloaded here.

RECOUP’s Litter Composition & Pathways Project Uncovers Crisp Packet From the 90’s

As part of the RECOUP Litter Composition & Pathways Project the team recently carried out a litter pick in a local industrial area. In total 7 bags were collected over a 2-hour period which incorporated a mixture of new material as well as legacy litter, and remarkably included a crisp packet with a 1997 expiry date!

The condition of this crisp packet was surprisingly preserved, with little degradation to the packet itself or the ink, really highlighting how litter can stay in the environment for considerable periods of time if disposed of incorrectly and left uncollected.

This was the 5^th litter pick carried out as part of the project, which came about due to the continued concern over litter pollution, and the call for better data and evidence to drive effective solutions to reduce litter.

Supported by funding from RECOUP members McDonald’s and Ocado Retail, the project’s primary goal is to review, challenge, and provide robust evidence regarding the composition of litter. To achieve this, RECOUP aims to:

• Develop a standardized, evidence-based methodology for collecting and analysing litter.
• Create a comprehensive litter composition data set.
• Test the use of Artificial Intelligence technology to determine insights such as litter distribution and composition.
• Understand the difference between terrestrial and riverine litter through the use of a Seabin, which is additionally funded by Viridor and Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT).

A variety of litter picks have already been carried out across the Peterborough area with the help of the Peterborough Litter Wombles, covering a mix of location types and deprivation levels, to understand any variations in litter types based on these variables.

As the project progresses, the methodology will be shared with litter groups across the country, with the aim for them to continue building the litter database by covering a larger variety of different location types, helping to make the data as comprehensive and inclusive as possible.

The evidence-based insights gained from this project will aid in the development of targeted interventions to combat litter pollution effectively and will be shared with government, devolved administrations, and key stakeholders to inform and advise policy decisions.

Laura Hutchings, Projects & Data Manager at RECOUP, said “It has been really interesting to see the variety of both new and legacy litter we have been collecting from each litter pick. There is an obvious need for highly thought-out, targeted interventions for the prevention of litter, and this project will provide key data and insights to help achieve this”.

If you would like to find out more about the Litter Composition & Pathways Project, please contact Laura Hutchings on laura.hutchings@recoup.org.

Re-Universe to Bring Reuse to the Isle of Man After Winning the Prestigious Cleantech Isle of Man Innovation Award 2024.

Oxfordshire based re-universe, an innovative technology company based in Bicester, has been announced as the winner of the CleanTech Isle of Man Innovation Challenge 2024. This accolade recognises their ambitious project to make the Isle of Man the first nation to eliminate single-use cups by transitioning entirely to reusable cups. Using the re-universe technology platform, smart reusable cups will see a deposit or penalty hold activated at point of purchase which will be refunded / released at point of return.

The rigorous six-month competition saw re-universe stand out among thirteen finalists from around the globe. These finalists presented their solutions to an audience of 250 attendees on Thursday, 13th June, culminating in re-universe being selected as the winner of the Cleantech Award.

The awards were organised by the Department for Enterprise’s executive agencies, Digital Isle of Man, Business Isle of Man, and Finance Isle of Man, with the support of the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority and UNESCO Biosphere. The competition featured strong contenders from Denmark, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

The re-universe platform is perfectly suited for a project of this scale, using advanced technology with unique coding and RFID to provide comprehensive item-to-item traceability, asset management alongside accurate data and insights. By collaborating with the Island to scale resources and infrastructure—including collection, sorting, washing, and logistics—the entire system is seamlessly integrated through the re-universe platform.

Using re-universes latest Just Tap technology, the platform connects the customers card to the cup at point of purchase, requiring no download of app or registration to use the scheme, bringing unparalleled ease to all who use it, whether they buy a drink in an independent coffee shop, a workplace, or an event such as the annual motorcycling TT race.

“We were honoured to receive the CleanTech Isle of Man Innovation Award,” said Rachel Warren, CEO of re-universe “we are impressed with the island’s commitment, passion and ‘can-do’ attitude to reduce single-use. This award highlights our joint commitment to set new standards in sustainability with a whole Nation approach. The Isle of Man will serve as a leading example for other communities and nations wanting to do better and switch to reuse”

Kirree Gooberman, Head of Business Development, Department for Enterprise adds “The most powerful tool in sustainability is changing behaviour, re-universe exemplify this by identifying a real problem and providing a practical solution to enable change. We are delighted re-universe won the CleanTech award and are excited to see the possibilities of what we can achieve working for our Island.”

This win builds on re-universe’s successful project at Blenheim Palace, another UNESCO World Heritage site, where they are achieving high return rates and strong engagement with the permanent reusable cup initiative at the Palace.

The award underscores the significant impact that re-universe’s project could have on environmental sustainability, not just on the Isle of Man, but as a model for other nations striving to reduce waste and foster reuse practices.

Election Manifestos – Climate Change, Recycling & Plastics – What’s Included?

With the General Election being held on 4 July, the political parties have published their manifestos, which have included promises and approaches to climate change, recycling and plastics. Steve Morgan has outlined the main points, including the number of mentions of some key words for each party, in a busy week in politics!

Leading the way with key words is ‘Climate Change’ (21), ‘Net Zero’ (17), ‘Pollution’ (16) and ‘Recycling’ (11), albeit eight of the eleven mentions of ‘Recycling’ were included by one party.  ‘Waste’ (4), ‘Plastic’ (3) ‘Packaging’ (1) are barely mentioned, and ‘Producer Responsibility’ is not included in any of the manifestos.

Although looking at key words is interesting, it is an indication only. The effectiveness of any political party maybe not be about the quantity of the use of these words, but the overall aim, ambition and drive to deliver on environmental policies that are mentioned, or at least referred to. One key mention could lead the way to far reaching change.

The manifestos outlined in no particular order and the information does not show or intend to show support for any party.

The Conservatives

Looking at waste and recycling, in “Our plan to support our rural way of life and enhance our environment”, on page 67 it states they will:

• Take comprehensive action to crack down on organised waste crime, especially those who impact protected nature sites, and to use enhanced penalties for fly tipping, giving councils the tools to help tackle offenders.
• Continue to develop a UK-wide DRS, while promising to minimise the impact on businesses and consumers.
• That increased recycling rates will reduce the need for incineration capacity in the longer term, and they will also prevent new waste incinerators being built, including those with recent permit approvals or where substantial construction has not taken place.

The main focus on Climate Change and Net Zero is on pages 49 and 50 through ‘Our plan for an affordable and pragmatic transition to net zero’ and how they will cut the cost of tackling climate change for households and business and deliver net zero by 2050.

In ‘Our plan to secure our nation from global uncertainty’, on pages 34 and 34 they state they will maintain the leadership on climate change at COP26 and efforts to tackle global warming and biodiversity loss and will continue the commitment to International Climate Finance.

Climate change – 8 / Net Zero – 10 / Pollution – 4 / Recycling – 1 / Waste – 2 / Plastic – 0 / Packaging – 0 / Producer Responsibility – 0

The Labour Party

The second point of Labour’s five missions to rebuild Britain on page 13 is to “Make Britain a clean energy superpower to cut bills, create jobs and deliver security with cheaper, zero-carbon electricity by 2030, accelerating to net zero”.

More information is outlined from pages 47-59, stating:

• Commitment to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy.
• Climate change can be complementary to economic growth, energy security, lower bills, and addressing climate change.
• A national mission for clean power by 2030 is achievable and should be prioritised.
• They will ensure the institutional framework for policy making reflects commitments to reach net zero and meet our carbon budgets and make the UK the green finance capital of the world including mandating UK-regulated financial institutions and FTSE 100 companies to develop and implement credible transition plans that align with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.

In ‘Britain Reconnected’ on pages 122 and 123 it states the urgency of the climate and nature crisis without co-ordinated global action and a failure to act will cause environmental devastation. It also states about being climate leaders at home, including meeting targets ensuring strong global leadership needed to tackle the climate crisis. Labour will create a new Clean Power Alliance by bringing together a coalition of countries “at the cutting edge of climate action”.

Climate change – 4 / Net Zero – 3 / Pollution – 1 / Recycling – 0 / Waste – 0 / Plastic – 0 / Packaging – 0 / Producer Responsibility – 0

Liberal Democrats

In Chapter 12 on the ‘Natural Environment’, they promise to create a nature-positive economy, tackle plastic pollution and waste, and “get Britain recycling” by:

• Introducing a DRS for food and drink bottles and containers, working with the devolved administrations to ensure consistency across the UK, learning the lessons from the difficulties with the Scottish scheme.
• Aiming for the complete elimination of non-recyclable single-use plastics within three years and replacing them with affordable alternatives.
• Working to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 through the UN High Seas Treaty and finalising a Global Plastics Treaty to cut plastic pollution worldwide.
• Setting an ambition of ending plastic waste exports by 2030.

Climate change comes third in the list of priorities in the manifesto, after the economy and business and jobs.

In Chapter 2 on ’A fair deal on the environment’ they promised to:

• Put tackling climate change at the heart of a new industrial strategy.
• Provide skills training, incentives and advice to help families and businesses with the transition to net zero.

Chapter 4 on ‘Business and Jobs’ outlines that they would cut resource use, waste and pollution by accelerating the transition to a more circular economy that maximises the recovery, reuse, recycling and remanufacturing of products.

In Chapter 5 on ‘Climate Change and Energy’ they would urgent action needed to tackle climate change and take action needed now to achieve net zero by 2045, including:

• Meeting the UK’s commitment under the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions by at least 68% from 1990 levels by 2030.
• Requiring the National Infrastructure Commission to take fully into account the environmental implications of all national infrastructure decisions.

Climate change – 4 / Net Zero – 3 / Pollution – 5 / Plastic – 1 / Recycling – 2 / Waste – 2 / Packaging – 0 / Producer Responsibility – 0

Green Party

In ‘Creating A Fairer, Greener Economy’ from pages 13-16 to:

• A Green Economic Transformation.
• Phasing out fossil fuels.
• A just transition to a zero-carbon economy.
• In ‘Resource Use’ to increase the scope of bans on the production of single-use plastics for use in packaging and disposable products such as baby wipes.
• In ‘A Green Economic Transformation’ to allocate £50billion to retrofitting buildings, installing non-fossil fuel heating systems, and adapting homes for a climate changed world.

On page 15 it specifically states in ‘Research, development and skills’ to increase investment into research and development with additional spending primarily focused on tackling the climate and environmental crisis through funding research into areas, including:

• Re-use, repair, recycling and designing out waste.
• Carbon neutral construction; carbon-neutral production
• Carbon capture technology.

In ‘Respecting the limits of the planet’ on pages 15 and 16 it also includes:

• Advocating for a circular economy that reduces the waste of resources.
• Manufacturers to offer ten-year warranties on white goods, to encourage repair and reuse.
• Introduce a comprehensive ‘right to repair’, so manufacturers keep goods operational years after purchase and to eliminate built-in obsolescence.
• Require manufacturers to produce only the most energy efficient white goods, TVs, lighting and electric cookers to encourage a shift from an ownership to a usership model, for example through car-sharing platforms and neighbourhood libraries for tools and equipment.

In ‘Providing Fairer, Greener Homes for All’ on pages 7-9 in ‘minimising the climate impact of new homes and buildings’ includes:

• Planning applications will be required to include whole-life carbon and energy calculations.
• Materials from demolished buildings will need to be considered for reuse and rates for disposal of builders’ waste will be increased to ensure that the economic driver for reuse is in place.

Other policies included are:

• Powering up Fairer, Greener Energy (pages 10-12).
• A Fairer and Greener Approach to Public Finances (pages 20-22).
• Bringing Nature Back to Life (pages 23-24).
• A Greener and Fairer Food and Farming System (pages 27-28).

Climate change – 5 / Net Zero – 1 / Pollution – 6 / Plastic – 1 / Recycling – 1 / Waste – 8 / Packaging – 1 / Producer Responsibility – 0