We urgently need to improve plastic recycling – a new report outlines what this will take. 

Plastic recycling remains a persistent and stubborn problem. We simply do not recycle enough. And while waste reduction and reuse remain important, there’s no getting away from the need to drastically improve recycling rates now and long into the future.

A new policy report from the University of Manchester’s ‘One Bin to Rule Them All’ research team explains what this will take. In the report – Tackling Household Plastic Waste: Best Practice for a Circular Plastics Economy, the team outline three best practice responses.

They argue that policy needs to better appreciate the challenges consumers face when trying to recycle. Things are too complicated to make it easy for households to do the right thing. This is particularly the case when doing the ‘right’ thing can change from one local authority to the next.

The team also outline the need for standardisation and consistency across the supply chain. We need simplified packaging, clear and coherent messaging, and complementing infrastructure. These changes are crucial to bring about a circular economy for plastic.

The fruition of this economy will also rely on policymakers and stakeholders better appreciating the current and potential fates of waste plastics. The team have developed an online tool that provides this crucial insight. It leaves influential actors well placed to take decisions that limit environmental harm and increase sustainability.

Business as usual won’t do when it comes to tackling plastic waste. The report not only makes clear why this is the case, it also provides a set of pragmatic and cogent responses aimed at tackling the problems faced.

• Read the full report