A government-commissioned report has urged ministers to ensure development of more plastic-recycling plants.
The Independent Review of Greenhouse Gas Removals, chaired by former Labour MP Alan Whitehead, said reducing the amount of plastic going into energy-from-waste (EfW) plants would help meet net zero goals.
“By reducing the amount of plastic going into EfW plants, both the total volume of municipal solid waste processed and the share of this which is biogenic can be increased, contributing to greenhouse gas removals (GGRs),” said the study.
“Recycling rather than combusting plastics is also preferred under the waste hierarchy.
“Government should introduce measures to reduce the proportion of plastic going into EfW plants, thereby increasing capacity and GGR potential, through the establishment of plastic receiving and recycling plants in the UK.”
A large group of plastic-recycling organisations recently wrote to the president of the European Commission demanding a raft of policy measures to boost the ailing sector.
Twenty-eight bodies including Plastics Recyclers Europe, EuRIC and the European Waste Management Association signed a letter to Ursula von der Leyen last month warning of an “unprecedented crisis”.
They called for higher incentives to invest in the necessary infrastructure, alongside public procurement reform and other measures.
