18 Jul 2022 --- Opinions about the UK’s plastic recycling performance remain divided, with the British Plastics Federation (BPF) identifying “clear progress” toward circularity but Greenpeace warning that recycling efforts are failing and must now focus on plastic reduction. The NGO and Everyday Plastic recently launched an investigation to understand the scale of plastic use in the UK. The Big Plastic Count took place for one week in May 2022, with participating consumers, including 36 MPs, recording how much and what type of plastic packaging they threw in the waste bin or recycling stream.The results show that the UK’s recycling systems can’t cope with the amount of plastic packaging waste leaving households. It also shows only 12% of plastic packaging is likely to be recycled in the UK. Moreover, the UK generates the second most plastic waste per capita after the US.
