Plastic Recycling

Nearly all types of plastics can be recycled. However, the extent to which they are recycled depends upon technical, economic and logistic factors. Plastics are a finite and valuable resource, so the best outcome after their initial use is typically to be recycled into a new product.

Are you trying to find out how to recycle a specific item? If so visit this page to find out where you can recycle items locally.

1 Introduction
2 Key Plastic Recycling Facts
2.1 UK recycling statistics
2.2 Global recycling rates
2.3 Recycling rates and claimed behaviour
3 Recycling Plastic and the Waste Hierarchy
4 Frequently Asked Questions About Plastic Recycling
4.1 Why recycle plastic in the first place?
4.2 Which plastics can be recycled?
4.3 How do I know what plastic I can recycle at home?
4.4 Why do different councils recycle different things?
4.5 How does the UK plastics industry contribute to the cost of recycling?
4.6 Why does the UK export some of its plastic for recycling?
4.7 What is the difference between a recycling rate and a recovery rate?
4.8 How many times can you recycle plastic?
4.9 Can you recycle plastic films?
4.10 What are the steps involved in recycling?
           4.11 Learn More About Plastics Recycling
5 Identifying Plastic for Recycling
6 Closed loop and open loop recycling
7 Eco-Design and recyclability
8 Post Consumer Recycling
8.1 Recycling plastic in electronic equipment
8.2 Recycling plastic from cars and other vehicles
8.3 Recycling plastic from medical equipment
9 Recycling manufacturing waste
10 Recycling and biodegradable plastics
11 Innovative recycling schemes in the UK
12 Chemical recycling
13 Dedusting of pellets
14 Are you looking to buy or sell recycled plastic?
15 Legislation, Standards, Related Publications and other useful links
16 Other key organisations
17 Sources

1 Introduction

Across the UK, as part of local authorities waste management, nearly all councils provide plastics recycling collection. This plastic is then 'post-consumer' plastics packaging waste, and is supplied to the recycling sector. The amount which is collected and recycled has increased each year for at least the last twenty-five years.

Once the plastic is collected and sent to a recycling centre, it is typically separated into different polymer types, which are then separately shredded (and impurities like paper are removed), then melted back into polymer pellets. These pellets are then sold on to be used in new products.  

Recycling and other recovery processing routes help reduce environmental impacts, as well as save costs, across the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors in particular.

2 Key Facts

2.1 UK recycling statistics

Recycling rates in the UK have come a long way in recent years and continue to grow year on year.  For example, in the year 2000 only 13,000 tonnes of plastic bottles were recycled [1]; the UK now collected for recycling 390,000 tonnes of plastic bottles a year [2]. The figures below are for the UK.

'Recovered' is a broader term than 'recycling' and refers to material that is not sent to landfil and is repurposed in some way. It includes recovering energy from waste (EFW).

2.2 Global Recycling Numbers

The total proportion of plastics being recycled varies by region around the world, with the EU coming third overall. 

Source: https://www.veolia.co.uk/sites/g/files/dvc1681/files/document/2018/10/Veolia%20UK%20_%20Planet%20Magazine%2016.pdf

Countries use different sets of measures to report how much plastic they recycle, so it is not always straightforward to compare between the reported rate of each country. Plastic packaging recycling rates (a subset of all plastic) vary across Europe, with the UK coming in 10th overall. 

Source: PlasticsEurope: https://www.plasticseurope.org/application/files/1115/7236/4388/FINAL_web_version_Plastics_the_facts2019_14102019.pdf

2.3 Recycling Rates and Claimed Behaviour

A project jointly run by the BPF and the Environmental Services Association commissioned an independent survey that found that 94% of adults within the UK claim to recycle plastic most of the time, with 60% of adults claiming they 'always' recycle plastic. However, this does not appear to correlate with the UK's published recycling figures, suggesting a dispcrepancy between 'claimed' behaviour and actual behaviour.
 
For more information about the project and for more facts about recycling, visit: www.plasticrecyclingfacts.org

3. Recycling plastic and the waste hierarchy

The waste framework directive sets out that waste should be dealt with in accordance with the waste hierarchy, with legislation aiming to move waste management up the hierarchy. The recycling of plastics fits into the waste hierarchy as an efficient and sustainable use of material resources. The BPF have developed their own Plastic Waste Hierarchy. 

4. Frequently Asked Questions about Plastics Recycling

4.1 Why recycle plastic in the first place?

Capturing waste plastic and channelling it into efficient recycling and recovery routes is widely recognised as a key way to reduce costs and environmental impact across the construction, manufacturing and retail sectors in particular. The recyclability of plastic is also one of its key strengths as an extremely resource-efficient material and used plastic should ideally be regarded as a valuable resource rather than ‘waste’. 

Recycling plastic:

• Provides a sustainable source of raw materials to the industry
• Greatly reduces the environmental (especially the CO2) impact of plastic-rich products
• Minimises the amount of plastic being sent to the UK’s landfill sites
• Avoids the consumption of the Earth’s oil stocks
• Consumes less energy than producing new, virgin polymers
• Embeds the right values and behaviour to reduce human impact on the environment

If all plastic were recycled it would save 30 - 150 million tonns of Co2 each year which is equivalent to closing between 8 and 40 coal-fired power plants globally [13]. 

BPF Member, Axion Polymers, analysed its carbon footprint. It found that substituting one tonne of virgin polypropylene (PP) for one tonne of Axpoly® rPP would save nearly 1200 kg CO2, which is the equivalent to transporting the material from London to Milan in a standard lorry. Although this data is specific to Axion Polymers' process, other methods will show similar benefits. The graph to the right shows the savings for other material recycled by Axion. Source of data: Axionpolymers 2017 - Axpoly® Carbon Footprint Analysis

4.2 Which plastics can be recycled?

Every type of plastic can be recycled… technically. But the extent to which they are recycled depends upon economic and logistical factors. The most widely recycled plastics are the two used to make soft drinks bottles and milk bottles: PET and HDPE.  As well as plastic packaging most durable plastic can also be recycled. Traditional recycling is known as ‘mechanical recycling’ which physically breakdowns the plastic but does not alter the chemical structure. There is also ‘chemical recycling’  whose application is relatively new which does alter the chemical structure of the plastic. This technology means mixed batches of all types of plastic can be recycled – even back into food-grade packaging. 

4.3 How do I know what plastic I can recycle at home?

The On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) provides information to consumers about whether a plastic product can be recycled. Retailers and brand owners are encouraged to use this help communicate with the public on what can and cannot be recycled.

If you want to check whether a particular product can be recycled locally, you can do this on the Recycle Now website.

4.4 Why do different councils recycle different things?

Recycling is currently devolved to local authorities in the UK. Nearly all councils collect plastics for recycling, generally through a kerbside collection system. This 'post-consumer' plastics packaging waste is then provided to waste management and recycling companies. Councils choose what to collect for recycling and often base their decision on the cost at which they can sell the collected material and what specific materials nearby recycling facilities can process. The British Plastics Federation (BPF) would like the recycling system across the UK to be greatly simplified to make recycling less confusing for consumers and to achieve higher recycling rates.

4.5 How does the UK plastics industry contribute to the cost of recycling?

The plastics industry pays money towards our recycling costs via what is known as a Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) — but the recycling industry feels this system needs reform. Packaging Recovery Notes and Packaging Export Recovery Notes (PERNs) are issued by recyclers and exporters as proof of recycling, which are bought directly from them (or via compliance schemes) by the supply chain.

There has been a government consultation on Extended Producer Responsbility (EPR) which will see the industry contribute more towards the cost of recycling. More information on this is available here. 

4.6 Why does the UK export some of its plastic for recycling?

The UK exports some of its plastic for recycling because at this point in time it has no choice. The UK does not have capacity to recycle all of the plastics it produces. For a long time the BPF has been calling for greater investment in our domestic recycling infrastructure. Although ideally it would be great for the UK to be able to recycle all of its own waste, for the foreseeable future there will continue be a mix between recycling material within the UK and exporting it to other countries to be recycled.

The BPF Recycling Roadmap sets out how the UK can reduce its relevance on export over the next decade. 

4.7 What is the difference between a recycling rate and a recovery rate?

The 'recovery rate' is the amount of plastic which is either recycled or goes for energy recovery. It does not include any plastic which has gone for disposal. A 'recycling rate' is the amount of material which is sent for reprocessing in the UK or is exported for reprocessing. Different countries will measure their recycling and recovery rates at different points. The Europrean Commision have set a common point of measurement which is the 'point where materials enters the final recycling process'. This should help to standardarise how countries report their recycling rates. 

4.8 How many times can you recycle plastic?

There is no simple answer to this. It depends on the type of plastic, how it is being recycled and what it is being recycled for. Polymers do slightly break down as they are recycled — but this minor degradation is easily countered by mixing in calculated amounts of ‘virgin’ (new) plastic.

4.9 Can you recycle plastic films?

The recycling of ‘post-commercial’ industrial and agricultural films is well established in the UK. Products made from recycled films include refuse sacks, damp-proof membranes, fencing and garden furniture. Supermarkets are offering in store collections for ‘post-consumer’ film as well as a few councils offering kerbside collections. The industry would like to see plastic film collected kerbside as part of consistent collections. Where film cannot be recycled through the mechanical recycling stream then Chemical recycling technologies are capable of converting mixed batches of all plastics — including plastic films — back into oil, which can then be converted back into plastic. However, the UK still has to develop its chemical recycling capacity and the technology still needs some investment and development to work on an industrial scale. 

4.10 What are the steps involved in recycling?

There are multiple steps involved in plastics recycling. These include:

• collection
• sorting
• washing
• reprocessing

We have an entire article that explains the processes in detail here.

4.11 Learn More About Plastics Recycling

A project jointly run by the BPF and the Environmental Services Association commissioned an independent survey that found that 94% of adults within the UK claim to recycle plastic most of the time, with 60% of adults claiming they 'always' recycle plastic. However, this does not appear to correlate with the UK's published recycluing figures, suggesting a dispcrepancy between 'claimed' behaviour and actrual behaviour.

For more information about the project and for more facts about recycling, visit: www.plasticrecyclingfacts.org

5. Identifying plastic for recycling

There is no mandatory need to mark plastic in a way that signifies what polymer it is. However, to aid recycling, the BPF recommends that larger parts and packaging should be marked with an appropriate identification code. The BPF recommends the use of a coding system devised by the Plastics Industry Association as below. Moulded plastics items should be marked in accordance with ISO 11469:2016 where possible.

	PET	polyethylene terephthalate	Water bottles, soft and fizzy drink bottles, pots, tubs, oven ready trays, jam jars
	HDPE	high-density polyethylene	Chemical drums, jerricans, carboys, toys, picnic ware, household and kitchenware, cable insulation, carrier bags, food wrapping material.
	PVC	polyvinyl chloride	Window frames, drainage pipe, water service pipe, medical devices, blood storage bags, cable and wire insulation, resilient flooring, roofing membranes, stationery, automotive interiors and seat coverings, fashion and footwear, packaging, cling film, credit cards, synthetic leather and other coated fabrics.
	LDPE	low density polyethylene	Squeeze bottles, toys, carrier bags, high frequency insulation, chemical tank linings, heavy duty sacks, general packaging, gas and water pipes.
	PP	polypropylene	Buckets, crates, toys, medical components, washing machine drums, bottle caps, and battery cases.
	PS	polystyrene	Toys and novelties, rigid packaging, refrigerator trays and boxes, cosmetic packs and costume jewellery.
	Other	other types of plastics

6. Closed loop and open loop recycling

As more plastic is recovered and recycled, it provides increasing amounts of raw material for the recycling sector, which can be used for either 'closed loop' or ‘open loop’ recycling. Closed loop recycling means a product is recycled into another, almost identical product. A simple example of this is recycling a PET drink bottle into a new PET drink bottle. Open loop recycling means a product is turned into a new type of product. For example, recycled plastic packaging could end up in a plastic water pipe, a park bench or even a pair of trainers. Although many environmentalists understandably favour closed loop recycling, open loop recycling is still valuable as products like a park bench have a very long life, using recycled material is often more resource efficient and applications like this provide a market for recycled plastic that is not of sufficient quality or purity for going back into products that will be in contact with food or drink.

7 Eco-Design and recyclability

Eco-design means taking into account the ultimate impact on the environment when designing products. With regards to plastic products such as plastic packaging, this includes evaluating whether the final product will be easy to recycle or what the overall carbon impact of creating that item would be.

Guidance exists for product designers that allows them to choose the types and combinations of plastics that can ensure a product is more sustainable. Although it is technically possible to recycle all types of plastic, it depends on the infrastructure available in the country and local area — so eco-design can, for example, be used to ensure that products can be recycled with ease at a particular location. 

RECOUP, alongside the BPF, has released a Recyclability by Design guide, which gives packaging designers guidance for ensuring plastic packaging is easy to recycle once it has served its initial purpose. These steps include technical advice such as minimising the use of colour, making the closures easily separable and avoiding full sleeves.

The BPF have also launched PackScore which is an easy-to-use eco-design tool. It is designed to be used at the early stage of packaging design and will give an recyclability rating from A-F. 

8 Post Consumer Recycling

The BPF Recycling Roadmap presents data on the UK plastic recycling industry across all sectors. It also looks at how much material is placed on the market in each sector. 

8.1 Recycling plastic in electronic equipment

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) includes any item that has a plug or a battery. Under the WEEE Directive, companies that sell electronic products to households must offer a take back scheme or join a distributor take back scheme (DTS) and make a financial contribution to helping set up WEEE collection facilities throughout the UK. This has led to an increase in plastics recycled from WEEE. Recycled plastic from WEEE can be used for a whole range of products, including new electrical goods and stationary.

8.2 Recycling plastic from cars and other vehicles

About 1.75 million vehicles reach the end of their life in the UK every year [9]. Under the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive, by 2015 all EU member states needed to have a reuse and recovery rate of 95% and a reuse and recycling rate of 85%. Most vehicles are taken to shredders for separating the materials, which include various plastics. Plastics from end-of-life vehicles can be recycled back into component parts for new vehicles or a wide range of other products, such as garden pots.

8.3 Recycling from medical equipment

It is possible to recycle plastic used in medical applications. RecoMed is a PVC take-back scheme currently being implemented at 7 different NHS hospitals across Britain (as of March 2016). The scheme involves the collection of used PVC medical devices including IV solution bags; nasal cannulas; oxygen tubes; anaesthetic masks and oxygen masks.

9 Recycling manufacturing waste

Across the construction, manufacturing, automotive and retail sectors, the importance of capturing potentially valuable streams of waste plastic and channelling them into efficient recycling and recovery processing routes is recognised. The manufacturing industry has focused on minimising production waste and increasing resource efficiency. This has led to a decrease in the plastic waste created as off-cuts or surplus scrap, while many larger manufacturing sites operate their own onsite recycling facilitie

10 Recycling and biodegradable plastics

Biodegradability is an area of growing interest and is often viewed as a solution to litter. There is concern that the mistaken idea that this material will necessarily break down in the natural environment could lead to an increase in littering.

Often, plastics that are referred to as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘compostable’ require industrial composting facilities to decompose and they will not break down in the natural environment. There is also very limited information and no standards available about how biodegradable or oxodegradable material will perform in the marine environment. The only standards available are for industrial composting. 

The impact of degradable materials on the recycling of conventional plastics is also a major concern for many recyclers. Even the perceived risk of recycled material containing degradable plastic can prevent a batch of recycled plastic from being used. This is especially true for recycled plastic used in long-term applications, such as in plastic pipes. Manufacturers do not want to risk their products starting to biodegrade or for the quality to decline unpredictably over time.

The fact it is very hard to distinguish between a conventional and a biodegradable or oxodegradable plastic means they may contaminate existing recycling streams. If they were to be more widely adopted, it is generally accepted that they would need a separate collection system.

11 Innovative recycling schemes in the UK

Recovinyl is an industry-led scheme. It provides financial incentives to support the collection of PVC waste from sectors not covered by the End of Life Vehicles Directive. This European scheme, backed by the British Plastics Federation, aims to ensure a steady supply of post-consumer PVC waste for recycling.

RecoFloor is a vinyl flooring take-back scheme launched by flooring manufacturers Altro and Polyflor. Waste vinyl flooring collected under the scheme is recycled and diverted from landfill.

RecoMed is PVC take-back scheme that provides recycling containers, communication and collections for hospitals that have registered for the service. This programme is run by Axion Consulting and the British Plastics Federation.

VinylPlus is built around five commitments aimed at: significantly increasing the recycling rates of PVC and the development of innovative recycling technologies, addressing concerns about organochlorine emissions, ensuring the sustainable use of additives, enhancing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy and raw materials in PVC production, and promoting sustainability throughout the whole PVC value chain.

12 Chemical Recycling

The BPF's Chemical Recycling Information Hub has a range of resources on chemical recycling. 

‘Chemical recycling’ is the broad term used to describe a range of technologies, other than mechanical recycling, that are emerging in the plastic waste recycling sector to recycle plastics streams that are currently sent to landfill or incineration. It is a complementary technology to mecahanical recycling. 

There are different types of chemical recycling:

• Pyrolysis
• Depolymerisation (e.g. Solvolysis)
• Hydro-thermal treatment
• Dissolution (complementary to both chemical recycling and mechanical recycling)

The Chemical Recycling Information Hub describes each of these technologies. It also has capacity data, LCAs and examples of where chemical recycling is used. 

In turning plastic waste back into base chemicals and chemical feedstocks, these processes are defined as recycling and contribute to improving recycling rates and enable the petrochemical industry to manufacture new virgin quality and food grade polymers with recycled content.

13 Dedusting of pellets

Dust is the most common fine impurity, which attaches to recycled pellets or granules. Dedusting involves separating dust from re-processed materials.

Dedusting of pellets is the industrial cleaning of granulates, generally using some form of pneumatic separation system.  

14 Are you looking to buy or sell recycled plastic?

The British Plastics Federation Recycling Group is made up of over 40 recyclers who between them represent around two thirds of all plastic recycling businesses in the UK.  If you would like to buy or sell plastic recycled material, please complete the online form and the BPF will send your enquiry direct to relevant companies in membership.

15 Legislation, Standards, Related Publications and other useful links

• Waste Framework Directive: This provides the overarching legislative framework for the collection, transport, recovery and disposal of waste, and includes a common definition of waste and recycling.
• Resources and Waste Strategy, available
• Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE and RoHS Directives)
• End-of-Life Vehicles Directive
• Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations
• Waste shipment Guidance
• REACH
• Specification (PAS) 103 enables plastics waste to be classified according to its polymer type, its original use and any contaminants. Plastics recycling companies will be able to set purchasing specifications based on this PAS and collectors, sorters and traders of plastics waste will be able to maximise the value of their material by understanding the precise needs of the recycling industry. PAS 103 was sponsored by DTI, Biffaward, WRAP, EMR and Fujitsu Services.
• Recycled Plastic in Food Contact Applications: European Commission Regulation No (EC) 282/2008 on recycled materials and articles intended to come into contact with foods and amending Regulation (EC) No. 2023/2006 entered into force on 24th April 2008 and is directly applicable throughout the EU. The regulation sets out the requirements for recycled plastics to be used in food contact materials and establishes an authorisation procedure of recycling processes used in the manufacture of recycled plastics for food contact use. 
• Any company wishing to use recycled plastics in food contact applications will need to gain approval from the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), which will base its safety assessment on factors such as the quality of the recycled raw material, the efficiency of the decontamination process and the plastic's intended use.
• Guidelines for the evaluation of recycled plastics to be used in contact with food have been published by the EFSA
• Recyclability by Design is a document released by RECOUP in conjunction with the BPF to help packaging designers optimise their designs for recycling.
• Find out where to recycle different types of plastics locally

16 Other key organisations

	Plastics Recyclers Europe Avenue de Cortenbergh 66 - P.O. Box 4 B-1000 Brussels Belgium http://www.plasticsrecyclers.eu/
	Plastics Europe  (Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe) Avenue E van Nieuwenhuyse 4, Box 3 B-1160 Brussels Belgium Telephone: +32 (2) 675 32 97 http://www.plasticseurope.org
	WRAP (Waste Resource Action Programme) The Old Academy 21 Horse Fair Banbury OX16 0AH http://www.wrap.org.uk
	RECOUP 1 Metro Centre Welbeck Way Woodston Peterborough PE2 7UH http://www.recoup.org

17 Sources

1. https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2017-11-22/debates/B30AE89D-32BB-4E53-8160-B755E4DD01AC/WasteCollectionServices  
2. RECOUP, 2021 UK Household Plastics Collection Survey 2021
3. PlasticsEurope, 2020 Plastics the Facts 2020: https://www.plasticseurope.org/en/resources/market-data 
4. Environment Agency, National Packaging Waste Database: https://npwd.environment-agency.gov.uk/Public/PublicSummaryData.aspx accessed 04.08.2022
5. PlasticsEurope, 2022 The Circular Economy for Plastics - A European overview 
6. RECOUP, 2021 UK Household Plastics Collection Survey 2021
7. Health and Safety Executive Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEEE): http://www.hse.gov.uk/waste/waste-electrical.htm accessed 16.05.2017
8. Environment Agency, 2020:   https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/waste-electrical-and-electronic-equipment-weee-in-the-uk  accessed 04.11.2021
9. British Platics Federation, 2021 BPF Recycling Roadmap 
10. Eurostat, 2018 End-of-life vehicles Statistics - reuse, recycling and recovery totals: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/End-of-life_vehicle_statistics#Total_weight_of_end-of-life_vehicles accessed 22.12.2020
11. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Statistics on Waste, 15 July 2021:  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/918270/UK_Statistics_on_Waste_statistical_notice_March_2020_accessible_FINAL_updated_size_12.pdf accessed 15.07.2021
12. WRAP, Rigid Plastic Packaging in the Commercial and Industrial Sectors: http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Rigid_Plastic_Packaging_report_0.pdf
13. Voulvoulis N et al, 2020 Examining the Material Evidence The Carbon Footprint