The volume of plastic packaging waste recycled in the UK fell by 32,000t in 2024 from the previous year, according to provisional data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Defra estimates that between 2.15mn t and 2.27mn t of plastic packaging waste was generated last year, with 1.15mn t of it recycled. This equates to a recycling rate of 51–53.7pc, compared with 52.5pc in 2023.
In 2023, the UK generated 2.26mn t of plastic packaging waste and recycled 1.19mn t. That year, the overall packaging recycling rate stood at 64.8pc.
The provisional 2024 data suggests a similar overall packaging recycling rate of 64.1–75.2pc, depending on which of two data sources is used to estimate the volume of packaging placed on the market. A single source is used to calculate the amount recycled.
The highest recycling rates in 2024 were recorded for paper and cardboard, followed by glass and metal.
Meanwhile, the UK's household recycling rate rose to 44.6pc in 2023, up by 0.5 percentage points from 2022. Of the 25.91mn t of total waste generated, 11.55mn t was recycled.
