Maya Ellison
The UK produces more plastic waste per person than almost any other country in the world, with the average person producing about 1.1kg of municipal solid waste per day. Although 94% of UK adults claim to recycle plastic most of the time, the UK has the 9th highest recycling rate in Europe for post-consumer plastic. So, what happens to our recycled plastic? After collection, plastic waste is sorted by material, washed, resized, and separated by type. However, the UK, like most developed nations, produces more waste than it can process at home, and much of our plastic waste is sent overseas to countries like Malaysia, Turkey, Poland, and Indonesia.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| UK's rank in plastic recycling in Europe | 9th |
| UK's plastic waste per person | 1.1kg per day |
| UK's total plastic waste | 230 million tonnes a year |
| Percentage of UK's plastic waste sent abroad | 66% |
| Countries that import UK's plastic waste | Malaysia, Turkey, Poland, Indonesia |
| UK's plastic waste sent to China | Reduced by 94% between 2016-17 and 2017-18 |
| Malaysia's action on UK's plastic waste | Sent back 3,000 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic waste to the UK |
| UK's plastic waste sent to incineration | Increased from 10.1 to 10.8 million tonnes in 2017-18 |
| UK's plastic waste sent to landfill | 24% in 2016 |
| UK's plastic packaging recycled | 49% |
| UK's total plastic recycled | 37% |
| UK's plastic recycling rate | 20% |
| UK's plastic waste that ends up in incinerators | Thousands of tonnes |
| UK's supermarket plastic collections recycled | A tiny fraction |
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What You'll Learn
UK plastic waste sent to landfill
The UK produces more waste than it can process at home, with UK households producing just under 27 million tonnes of waste in 2017. The latest figures show that food scraps, newspapers, cardboard, glass bottles, and plastics make up most of the waste.
In 2016, the UK sent 24% of its waste to landfill. The UK, like most developed nations, produces more waste than it can process domestically, with around 230 million tonnes of waste generated annually. The UK government's January 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan set a target to reduce residual municipal plastic waste to 42 kg per capita by January 2028. Residual waste refers to waste sent to landfills, incinerated, or used for energy recovery domestically or abroad.
The UK has historically sent plastic waste to China for recycling, but China's decision to no longer accept recycled plastic scrap that is not 99.5% pure has disrupted this practice. As a result, the UK has been sending plastic waste to other countries, particularly Malaysia, Turkey, Poland, and Indonesia. However, Malaysia has also started returning non-recyclable plastic waste to the UK and other countries due to concerns about illegal dumping and its negative impact on the environment.
Despite a partial ban on the practice across the EU, the UK continues to send plastic waste to low- and middle-income countries, including Bangladesh, Laos, Senegal, and Ethiopia, due to their lax environmental laws. This has led to criticism from environmental groups, who argue that the UK is failing to address the underlying recycling issues and passing the responsibility for its waste to other countries.
While the UK has increased domestic recycling of plastic waste in recent years, it still faces challenges in managing its waste effectively. Food waste, in particular, contributes significantly to household waste, with an estimated 70% of UK food waste coming from households.
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Plastic waste sent overseas
The UK produces more waste than it can process at home, with roughly two-thirds of plastic waste sent overseas to be recycled. In the year leading up to October 2018, the UK exported 611,000 tonnes of plastic packaging to other countries.
Until 2018, China was the world's primary importer of plastic waste. However, due to concerns about contamination and pollution, China decided to only import recycled plastic scrap that was 99.5% pure. The amount of plastic waste imported by China from the UK dropped by 94% between 2016-17 and 2017-18. Other countries, including Malaysia, Turkey, Poland, and Indonesia, began importing more plastic waste. Malaysia imported 105,000 tonnes in total, the most of any country. However, Malaysia has also sent back 3,000 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic waste to countries including the UK, citing public health concerns.
The UK government has committed up to £70 million to tackle plastic pollution and help developing countries find new ways of collecting and recycling plastic waste. The Environment Agency works closely with businesses that export waste to countries like Malaysia to ensure that the waste is uncontaminated and only sent to properly licensed facilities.
There are strict rules and regulations for shipping waste plastic from the UK. Waste exports and imports are called waste shipments, and they must follow specific controls and legal requirements. The controls that apply to non-hazardous waste plastic changed on 1 January 2021, and there are different rules for shipping to OECD and non-OECD countries.
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UK incineration rates
The UK has been facing challenges in managing its waste, with a reported generation of 222.9 million tonnes in 2016, an increase of 4% from 2014. England contributes significantly to this, accounting for 85% of the total waste. The country's waste consists of various materials, including food scraps, newspapers, cardboard, glass bottles, and plastics.
In recent years, the UK has witnessed a shift in waste management practices, with a focus on reducing, recycling, and reusing. According to the UK Household Plastics Collection Survey 2021, 94% of adults in the UK claim to recycle plastic most of the time, with 60% stating they "always" recycle. However, these figures don't align with the UK's published recycling rates, indicating a discrepancy between claimed behaviour and actual behaviour.
One of the concerns regarding waste management in the UK is the increase in incineration rates. In England, the amount of waste sent for incineration has been on the rise, increasing from 10.1 million tonnes in 2017 to 10.8 million tonnes in 2018. This trend is partly attributed to China's decision to no longer purchase recycled plastic scrap unless it is 99.5% pure, which resulted in a 94% drop in plastic exports to China from the UK between 2016-17 and 2017-18.
To address the environmental impact of incineration, the UK government has expressed its ambition to move away from incineration and towards maximizing recycling. The Environment Bill introduces measures such as charges on single-use plastics, a ban on plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds, and a deposit return scheme that has successfully increased recycling rates in over 40 countries.
While incineration rates have been a concern, the UK has also made progress in waste management. The latest figures for 2022 show a UK household recycling rate of 44.1%, with Wales leading the way at 56.9%. The UK has also seen a decrease in biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills, with 6.3 million tonnes in 2022, down from 6.7 million tonnes in 2021.
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UK supermarkets' recycling schemes
UK supermarkets have joined forces to collect one of the last plastics that can't be widely recycled at home. Bread bags, frozen food bags, crisp packets, pet food pouches, loo roll wrap, and chocolate wrappers can now be recycled at more than 4,000 supermarkets. Tesco and Sainsbury's, for example, have soft plastics collection points in their stores for customers. Sainsbury's also has a return-to-store recycling scheme, providing the opportunity to recycle more soft plastic until kerbside collection becomes available in 2026-27. Tesco allows customers to bring back any soft plastic packaging for recycling.
However, there is a lack of transparency regarding what happens to the plastic after it is dropped off at the supermarket. Environmental advocates have accused major retailers of misleading consumers about the true fate of their recyclable materials. An investigation by campaigners found that 70% of soft plastic collected in supermarket recycling schemes and tracked after collection ended up being burned. Trackers were placed inside packages of soft plastic collected by Tesco and Sainsbury's, and it was found that most of them ended up being incinerated rather than recycled.
Some argue that supermarket takeback schemes are a diversion and that there is too much plastic packaging. Instead of focusing on these schemes, supermarkets should prioritize reducing their plastic footprint and eliminating hard-to-recycle and unnecessary soft plastic from their product categories. It is also important to note that the UK exports a large portion of its recycling for "processing" in another country, which may end up in another country's landfill.
While the expansion of supermarket recycling schemes for soft plastics is a positive step, it is crucial to address the underlying issues of plastic production and explore sustainable packaging solutions to create a more effective and transparent recycling system in the UK.
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UK's plastic waste production
The UK, like most developed nations, produces more waste than it can process domestically. In 2016, the UK generated 222.9 million tonnes of waste, with England responsible for 85% of this total. The latest figures available show that UK households produced just under 27 million tonnes of waste in 2017, equivalent to 409 kg per person. Food scraps, newspapers, cardboard, glass bottles, and plastics make up most of this waste, and a significant amount could be avoided. In fact, a study by the University of Sussex found that the average family in the UK throws away 20% of the food they buy.
The UK has introduced legislation to ban certain single-use plastic products, including single-use plastic plates, cutlery, cotton buds, and balloon sticks, with further restrictions proposed on items such as single-use vapes and wet wipes containing plastic. In 2018, the UK government set a strategic ambition to "work towards all plastic packaging placed on the market being recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025." The UK government's January 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan set a target to reduce residual municipal plastic waste per capita by 45% by 31 January 2028.
Despite these efforts, the UK still exports a significant amount of plastic waste. In the year leading up to October 2018, the UK exported 611,000 tonnes of plastic packaging to other countries. Until 2018, China imported most of the world's plastic waste, but due to concerns about contamination and pollution, it announced it would only accept recycled plastic scrap that was 99.5% pure. As a result, the amount of UK plastic waste imported by China dropped by 94% between 2016-17 and 2017-18. Malaysia, Turkey, Poland, and Indonesia became the top destinations for the UK's plastic waste exports. However, Malaysia has also started to refuse non-recyclable plastic waste, pledging to send back 3,000 tonnes of contaminated waste to the UK and other countries.
The UK has the 9th highest recycling rate in Europe for post-consumer plastic. In 2020/21, an estimated 73% of plastic bottles produced were collected from households for recycling, 47% for pots, tubs, and trays, and only 4% for plastic film. Domestic recycling of plastic waste has increased in recent years, overtaking exports in 2021 for the first time in almost two decades. However, the recycling process is complex, as plastic encompasses numerous materials and product configurations, each requiring separate treatment.
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Frequently asked questions
In the UK, recycled plastic is first collected from homes, businesses, and local recycling centres, then sent to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to separate plastic from non-plastic, and/or a Plastic Recovery Facility (PRF) to sort the plastic by type. After being washed, shredded, and sorted, the plastic is melted and formed into new recycled plastic pellets, which are sold to be used in new products.
A wide range of products can be made from recycled plastic. For example, British Recycled Plastic offers outdoor furniture, landscaping and construction products, and raised beds, all made from 100% British Recycled Plastic and with a 25-year guarantee.
The UK produces more plastic waste per person than almost any other country in the world, and more waste than it can process domestically. As a result, some plastic waste is sent to incinerators, landfills, or other countries for recycling.
