RECOUP Report on Incorrect & Fraudulent Claims of Recycled Content Launched at RWM

Our report about incorrect and fraudulent claims of recycled content in plastic packaging was launched at RWM this week in a RECOUP session titled Saving UK Plastic Recycling – Fraud, Recycled Content and the Way Forward.

Joined by RECOUP members, Rachel Sheldon from Greiner Packaging, Jamie Riley at Robinson Packaging and Joseph Powell at Veolia, the session explored the significant challenges facing the UK’s plastic recycling system, and the systemic flaws undermining progress and the solutions.

As background, the Plastic Packaging Tax was designed to create an economic incentive to include recycled content and stimulate demand for infrastructure investment in the UK.

Whilst RECOUP is supportive of the aims of the tax, it is not having the desired impact. Plastic recycled in the UK competes with both virgin plastic and imported recycled plastic (mainly from East and Southeast Asia and Turkey) which has an entirely different cost base, greater access to cheaper material and potentially weaker regulatory compliance requirements which undercuts material recycled domestically.

As such, there is an influx of low-cost virgin material, recycled content and potentially falsely claimed recycled content, and lack of enforcement of recycled content claims is one key area that is damaging the competitiveness of UK’s plastic packaging manufacturing and recycling sectors.

Recent statistics commentary from HMRC on the tax supports this view. Whilst revenue reduced by 3% to £259m in 2024-25, the amount of plastic packaging that was relieved or exempt from the tax was 1,591,000 tonnes, an increase of over 300,000 tonnes from the first year the tax was in place.

Calling for stronger enforcement and verification, the report outlines a series of recommendations to establish a transparent, honest, and practical framework that supports UK plastic packaging manufacturers and recyclers.

The report was previously sent to members for comment in the summer, and the updated report can be downloaded here. A press release is scheduled to be circulated in early October.

This report follows on from the RECOUP positions document on the Plastic Packaging Tax from October 2024, titled ‘Considerations & Recommendations for a more Effective Plastic Packaging Tax’, which can be downloaded here.

If you would like to discuss the report, please contact Steve Morgan (steve.morgan@recoup.org).