A Year to Remember: BPF’s 2025 Achievements and Milestones

What does progress look like in a year of intense change?

For the British Plastics Federation, 2025 was a year of strong representation, practical support and continued progress across the UK plastics industry. From parliamentary engagement in London and Holyrood to international exhibitions in Shenzhen and Düsseldorf, from sustainability discussions to new technical resources, the year demonstrated the value of collaboration across the plastics supply chain.

Throughout the year, members, policymakers, researchers and industry experts came together to share knowledge, address challenges and support a more resilient and competitive plastics sector.

2025 at a glance

In 2025, we delivered:

• More than 15 industry events
• Strong parliamentary engagement across UK-wide and devolved governments
• Two major international exhibitions
• Continued growth in university membership
• New technical resources to support industry best practice
• A national training award for Operation Clean Sweep
• Continued collaboration across the plastics value chain

January to March: Strong Foundations and Sector Influence

January opened with the UK Plastics Recycling Market Conditions briefing, setting the tone with an honest assessment of the sector and practical solutions that became a reference point in policy discussions.

UK Plastics Recycling Market Conditions Briefing Document

February brought exciting growth as eight new universities joined BPF membership, strengthening the bridge between research and real-world manufacturing. This continued to reinforce the importance of connecting academic expertise with the practical needs of the plastics industry.

Angela Fredericks, Special Advisor for EPS and Plastics Innovation, welcomed Manchester University into BPF membership

March took industry concerns directly to Parliament. The BPF’s joint reception with Plastics Europe at the House of Lords brought 16 MPs and peers together with more than 90 members. Across the year, the BPF held three parliamentary events, ensuring that UK-wide and devolved governments heard directly from industry experts.

April to June: Global Reach, Leadership and Sustainability

April showcased UK innovation on an international stage. The BPF-led British Pavilion at Chinaplas 2025 in Shenzhen formed part of an exhibition that welcomed more than 280,000 visitors, reinforcing the global reputation of UK plastics manufacturing.

BPF at Chinaplas 2025 

The BPF also attended the Plastics Recycling Show Europe, exploring emerging circular technologies and developments across the recycling sector.

At our 90th Annual General Meeting in May, members unanimously elected Martin Hitchin, Chief Executive of REHAU UK, as our new president, reflecting members’ commitment to future-focused, responsible leadership.

Martin Hitchin, Chief Executive of REHAU UK, was elected BPF President 

June’s Sustainability Event brought together more than 50 professionals to share practical strategies for circularity and demonstrate how industry collaboration can support meaningful progress.

June’s Sustainability Event

July to September: Knowledge, Resources and International Engagement

July centred on practical tools and collaboration. The BPF’s Meetings Day in Nottingham supported face-to-face engagement across member groups, creating valuable opportunities for discussion, networking and shared learning.

Meetings Day in Nottingham

The release of the Energy Management in Plastics Processing book also provided vital guidance for reducing energy usage and costs across the industry.

Energy Management in Plastics Processing book

In August, representatives participated in the Plastics Pollution INC 5.2 negotiations in Geneva and reaffirmed our support for an ambitious and workable Global Plastics Treaty. Although the talks ended without agreement, we continued to provide technical insight to help ensure future discussions strike the right balance between environmental ambition and practical implementation.

INC 5.2 negotiations in Geneva

September continued this momentum with a successful Rotational Moulding Conference, bringing the industry together for technical insight and discussion.

Rotational Moulding Conference

The month also saw the arrival of three new team members, strengthening our work across sustainability, industrial issues and marketing!

October to December: Celebrating Excellence and Driving Standards

October delivered several major moments for the Federation and the wider industry.

We celebrated new industry talent at the BPF Horners Awards, recognising achievement and future leadership across the plastics sector.

The BPF Horners Awards

We showcased UK innovation at K 2025 in Düsseldorf, one of the world’s leading plastics trade fairs.

British Pavilion at K 2025 in Düsseldorf

We also welcomed more than 500 professionals to the BPF Annual Dinner, bringing together members, partners and industry colleagues for one of the sector’s key networking events of the year.

BPF Annual Dinner 2025

November highlighted both regional advocacy and technical excellence. We partnered with the Scottish Plastics & Rubber Association to host a parliamentary reception at Holyrood, continuing our work to ensure industry expertise is heard across devolved governments.

The BPF and Scottish Plastics & Rubber Association Parliamentary Reception

We also delivered the Automotive Seminar in Birmingham, chaired by Ian Ray of McLaren Automotive, bringing together industry voices to explore developments and challenges across the automotive plastics sector.

The month culminated in significant recognition when our Operation Clean Sweep training course won Best Training & Development Programme 2025 at the Plastics Industry Awards.

Operation Clean Sweep training course won Best Training & Development Programme

December closed the year with the VinylPlus Online Seminar, enabling wide participation in discussions on PVC sustainability and circularity.

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Behind each milestone was a wider story of collaboration, technical expertise and industry commitment.

The true impact of 2025 lies in the policies shaped, the operational improvements supported, the pellet loss prevented and the connections strengthened across the value chain.

Members who shared expertise, university partners who advanced research, speakers who contributed their insight and colleagues who brought new energy to the organisation all helped make 2025 a year of meaningful progress.

Thank you for helping make 2025 a year to remember!