Progress on increasing the amount of recycled plastic in UK packaging appears to have stalled, with more than a third of packaging still failing to meet the required 30% recycled content threshold.
Figures from HMRC show that 37% of plastic packaging manufactured in or imported into the UK was declared taxable under the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) in 2025/26. This is only a slight improvement from 38% in the previous year.
David Gudgeon, Head of External Affairs at the economy specialist company Reconomy, said: “UK recycling infrastructure is not currently equipped to cope with a significant increase in plastic packaging collected for recycling.
“The widely documented structural challenges facing the sector, including competition from cheaper virgin plastics and soaring labour and energy costs, have forced many recycling plants to shut.”
Introduced in April 2022, PPT was designed to encourage manufacturers and importers to increase recycled plastic use and reduce packaging waste.
However only around half of the packaging met the requirement and a further 11% was exported, intended for export or converted.
PPT revenue fell 4% from £261 million in the 2024/25 tax year to £250 million in the 2025/2026 tax year.
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