Downloads and Videos

Plastics Explained: Exploring the Key Topics

Plastics Explained includes facts and figures about the UK plastics industry, details the key role of the industry in a sustainable future and highlights the necessary steps that need to be taken to improve recycling in the UK. The document also takes a thorough look at the complexities surrounding many key plastic-related topics including deposit return schemes, consistent kerbside collections, extended producer responsibility, marine litter and chemical recycling.

Recyled Content Guidelines

Prepared through a close collaboration between the British Plastics Federation (BPF), the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), the document provides answers to questions about measuring recycled content and highlights important regulatory and technical considerations. The guidance is aimed at companies wishing to include recycled content in food, drink, cosmetics and pharmaceutical packaging; it is also designed to help policymakers better understand the sector-specific issues.

Plastics Packaging: The Progressive Packaging Medium

This simple objective booklet sets out a powerful case illustrating the extraordinary strengths and uses of plastics packaging.

Recycling Roadmap

Created by the British Plastics Federation (BPF), this roadmap analyses market data and uses expert assessment to provide an ambitious vision for dealing with plastic waste by 2030.

It provides answers to a number of questions, including:

• What is the capacity for plastics recycling in the UK?
• How could this change and grow in the next decade?
• What is needed to cut our exports of plastic waste and recycle more in the UK?

Understanding the Debate About Plastic

Using any material has environmental costs, but the costs associated with plastic products are often significantly lower than using alternative materials. For example, researchers have found that switching to alternative materials across plastic products could quadruple overall environmental costs. 

Plastics provide many critical benefits across a range of products and it's important this fact is recognised. Plastics will - and should - continue to play a vital role in all our lives going forward. 

That may surprise many of you. But this document helps explain why... 

BPF Net Zero briefing doucment

The British Plastics Federation is pleased to launch its new Net Zero Hub, providing a range of resources for members and the wider industry to better understand Net Zero and begin their journey. As part of this, the BPF has also produced a Net Zero briefing, introducing to the industry the concept of Net Zero and steps needed along the journey.

Sustainability in the Plastics Supply Chain

This report aims to address some of the key sustainability issues in the plastics industry and to provide concrete examples and case studies highlighting the industry’s contribution towards sustainability.

BPF Member Directory 2021 / 2022

The British Plastics Federation Members' Directory is a comprehensive guide to the products and services offered by the members of the Federation. This includes raw material suppliers (additives, masterbatch and polymer), recyclers, equipment suppliers and plastics processors.

Core Principles for the Recyclability of Plastics

This document shows how designers and manufacturers can maximise the recyclability of plastic packaging products. It provides detailed guidance for a variety of polymers, with tables summarising best practice for the main component of the packaging, as well as other components such as lids and labels. Readers are encouraged to engage with the detailed advice contained within this report but below we provide five simple guidelines as a summary to bear in mind when designing plastic packaging products.

Summary of why we use plastic packaging

We’d generate even more packaging if we switched from plastic to alternatives. This could be about 8 million more tonnes per year in the UK if we swapped to non-plastic substitutes. This means that using plastic helps to ensure we have fewer trucks on the road, use less energy, emit less greenhouse gas, and results in less material that we have to recover and recycle. 

Are you Interested in Learning More About Plastic Packaging?

The BPF has created short e-learning courses that cover plastic packaging. If you're interested in learning more, you can access our CPD approved e-learning courses on sustainable plastic packaging here.