In 2020, 92 per cent of plastic film packaging placed on the market in the UK was not recycled, accounting for 38 per cent of the 828,000 tonnes of plastic packaging not collected for recycling from households. Whether disposed of or rejected at recycling facilities which cannot recycle them, these soft plastics are likely dumped in landfills or incinerated.
EIA's research also revealed how a fund set up by some of the world's largest brands to encourage UK soft plastic recycling has yet to pay out a penny and exposes how, at the heart of Government, an MP paid to chair a packaging industry lobbying group can directly influence a Parliamentary group he also chairs.
The prevalence of soft plastics – which can include products such as plastic carrier bags, bread and cereal bags, cling film, bubble wrap, magazine wrap and shrink wrap (for multi-pack products such as drink containers, tinned food and toilet paper) – is a particularly concerning aspect of the ongoing global plastics crisis.
