Is only 9% of plastic is recycled?

Currently, much more than 9% of plastic gets recycled.

This recycling statistic relates to all the plastic ever made – from before the technology to recycle plastic even existed. [1]

It can also be misleading because lots of plastic plays a vital role in long-life applications. Some plastic pipes, for example, are designed to last for 100 years, so a lot of plastic has not yet reached the end of its life.

 

 

How Much Plastic Packaging Does Each European Country Recycle?

Instead of using a recycling statistic that refers to all the plastic ever made from every country in the world, regardless of whether or not it is still in use, a more accurate picture of the current situation can be gleaned by looking at recycling rates for individual countries. Even then, what qualifies as ‘recycling’ can differ from country to country, so direct comparisons are not always straight forward.

 

EU improvements in plastics recycling - the amount of plastic sent for recycling has doubled since 2006 (MILLION TONNES)

Within the EU, the amount of plastic sent for recycling has doubled since 2006. Source: Plastics the Facts 2020.

 

 

The average amount of plastic packaging recycled within the EU is 42%. In the UK, some key statistics are:

• 86% of plastic packaging is recovered (this means it is recycled or used to create energy from waste (EFW)). [2]
• 78% of all post-consumer plastic is recovered. [3]
• 77% of plastic drinks bottles are recycled. [4
• 50% of plastic packaging is recycled. [5]

UK Plastic Waste Exports

SOURCE:  National Packaging Waste Database– 360 Env. Feb 2020

For the latest recycling figures, please visit our page dedicated to plastics recycling.

Throughout the EU there has been a steady increase in recycling rates for plastics. Since 2006, the amount of plastic sent for recycling has doubled, whilst material going to landfill has decreased by 44%. [6] When it comes to the UK, the recycling of post-consumer plastic has increased by 140% since 2006 and the amount of plastic being sent to landfill has reduced by two-thirds. [7]

61% of the plastic packaging collected in the UK is exported for recycling due to insufficient capacity to recycle it here. [8] If you would like to understand why plastic waste is currently exported for recycling, please read the BPF’s position statement on Exporting Plastic Waste for Recycling. 

The UK plastics industry would like to process far more plastic within the UK, reducing our reliance on exporting plastic waste and minimizing plastic going into landfill. It has shown how this can be achieved by 2030 in the BPF’s Recycling Roadmap, which highlights the changes and drivers needed to more than triple the amount of plastic reprocessed in the UK, more than halve exports of plastic waste and reduce the amount of plastic going to landfill to 1%.

 

 

 

 

 

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