🆕We've published our Report on Plastic Waste today

Our key recommendation is that all UK plastic waste exports should stop by 2027🚮

To support this, @GovUK needs a strategy to reduce use of plastics and increase re-use, and also to boost recycling

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We ship overseas about 60% of our plastic packaging waste - some 2.5 million tonnes - mostly to Turkey🇹🇷

We heard alarming accounts of our exported plastic waste being dumped and burned causing “irreversible and shocking” environmental & human health impacts
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We heard illegally disposing of plastic waste is a low risk, high reward crime

We're calling for more enforcement+bigger fines & for Environment Agency to suspend or cancel accreditation for exporters who break the law

But plastic waste exports will remain at risk from criminals
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We said the only way to stop waste crime is a complete ban on plastic waste exports by end-2027

@GovUK should publish a roadmap to achieve this by March 2023
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@GovUK needs to develop a circular economy for plastics by:
▪reducing the UK consumption of plastics
▪increasing the reuse of plastics
▪investing in domestic recycling capacity

These are vital to deliver the ban on plastic waste exports
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More investment in recycling capacity & research into new technologies + materials will also boost the economy

Our Chair said 'if the UK takes a lead in this, we have the potential to create hundreds of new jobs and build a multi-billion pound waste management industry”
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More needs to be done to reduce plastic consumption too

@GovUK targets should be reformed to more closely follow the waste hierarchy: reduce, re-use, recycle in that order

@GovUK should aim for all plastic waste to be recycled, re-used or composted by 2042
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Extended Producer Responsibility's (EPR) rollout should be speeded up

Under EPR, the costs of dealing with plastic waste will be funded by packaging firms, so encouraging them to use less plastic

We recommend EPR is applied to smaller packing firms by 2030
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