Summary of Key Policy Requests
1. Recognition as a Manufacturing Foundational Industry
• The BPF is calling for the plastics sector to be recognised as a Manufacturing Foundational Industry.
• This is a term the UK government uses to identify industries that are vital to manufacturing and construction. These currently include cement, glass, ceramics, paper, steel and chemicals, and the BPF believes that the plastics industry has an indisputable claim to be included amongst their ranks.
3. Support UK Plastics Manufacturers to Compete Globally
• The BPF is calling for regulatory alignment with the EU, where it makes sense, so that trade barriers are minimised and competitiveness is protected.
• Recruitment and labour skills shortages are a persistent concern within the UK plastics industry. The introduction of Skills England along with the review of T Levels must be swift and efficient to address the concerns of UK manufacturers.
• To assist with improving productivity and reducing carbon emissions, the BPF is calling on the government to provide more grants to help companies access more energy-efficient machinery.
2. Stabilise and Grow the UK Recycling Infrastructure
• To deliver Packaging Recovery Notes (PRN) / Packaging Export Recovery Notes (PERN) Reform, the UK Government should publish reprocessor/ exporter PRN/PERN tonnages, toughen enforcement, level the playing field for UK reprocessors and revoke fraudulent PRNs/PERNs.
• The BPF calls for the reform and acceleration of the waste collection and packaging legislation. Additionally, in the frame of the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) Regulations, the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) labelling needs reconsideration to prevent fraud. It should clarify what is included and set appropriate fees associated with the various plastics.
• The Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) must be enforced rigorously and efficiently to prevent fraud.
• The BPF is calling for alignment with the EU on regulations governing the contact between plastics and foodstuffs, as proposed in the WTO’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures.
1. Recognition as a Manufacturing
The Industry in Numbers
2. Stabilise and Grow
Packaging Reforms: Accelerate
the reform of the waste collection and packaging legislation and maximise its effectiveness.
Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)
A consistent UK-wide DRS scheme, including the material type, size of containers and fee structure, is needed to simplify the process
Simpler Recycling
Ensure the maintenance of quality in mixed collections through effective sorting, guarantee flexibles are collected in 2027, and avoid further delays in implementation.
packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR)
Ensuring that businesses understand their responsibilities and develop packaging formats that are recyclable.
• Review the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM) and ensure that plastics are correctly identified.
• Amend the pEPR Fees to ease the unfair pressures applied on the UK plastics industry.
• Introduce a zero-tolerance regime within pEPR to address fraud.
• Clarify exactly what is included in pEPR.
• Removal of the de minimis threshold within pEPR.
The BPF is calling for the mandatory certification of recycled content to the relevant ISO standard.
Ensure that alignment on food contact regulations is agreed as part of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures and that industry is engaged within this process.
3. Support UK Plastics Manufacturers to Compete Globally
Trade: Maintaining pragmatic EU alignment where it reduces friction and supports trade.
The lack of clarity on regulatory alignment is damaging UK businesses manufacturing products for both the UK and EU markets.
To ensure business readiness, a swift response is needed for the UK REACH consultation on the Alternative Transitional Registration model (ATRm).
The EU remains the UK’s largest trading partner (for the plastics industry) with over 64% of our entire trade value.
Skills: Additional support for businesses to replace lost expertise and the swift and co-ordinated deployment of the Skills England body.
The current placement length for T Levels does not allow students to become meaningfully involved in a manufacturing setting due to the health and safety requirements.
The BPF would like the government to review the current T Levels 45day placement length as a matter of urgency, specifically within a manufacturing setting.
The BPF is calling for the inclusion of polymer-specific courses within T Levels. This includes modules such as polymer engineering, processing, design and the role of polymers in sustainability.
Energy: More grants are needed for the deployment of energyefficient machines to assist industry’s decarbonisation, productivity and competitiveness.
Grants for energy efficiency machinery
Location of Plastics and Rubber Firms in the UK
Northern Ireland, 3%
North West, 15%
Wales, 5%
Scotland, 6%
North East, 4%
Yorkshire and Humberside, 12%
East Midlands, 13%
East England, 9%
London, 2%
The UK Plastics Industry
The UK plastics industry is bristling with opportunities to take the UK forward. This document sets out the policy requests that we would like to work with politicians on, in order to grow this UK manufacturing sector that is so critical for national and economic security.
The British Plastics Federation
Founded in 1933, the BPF represents the third largest manufacturing sector in the UK with over 145,000 employees.
With a turnover of over £30.7bn, and one of the top ten UK exporting sectors, the BPF has over 600 members who between them represent the entire plastics industry supply chain. This includes raw materials (polymer producers and additive suppliers), processors (moulders, packaging companies and pipe/ windows manufacturers), recyclers/waste management companies and equipment suppliers.
South East, 9%
South West, 7%
West Midlands, 15%
