UK packaging recycling business targets 2024

Under the United Kingdom's obligated packaging producers guidance, businesses that handle a certain annual volume of packaging are required to recycle a defined percentage of the packaging commercialized. In 2024, the overall packaging recycling business target stood at 80 percent. Rates vary depending on the type of packaging, with steel packaging having the highest target, at 87 percent. Meanwhile, a 42 percent recycling target was set for wood packaging.

Packaging recycling targets for packaging producers in the United Kingdom in 2023 and 2024, by material

Characteristic	2023	2024
Overall	77%	80%
Wood	35%	42%
Plastic	61%	61%
Steel	87%	87%
Aluminium	69%	69%
Glass	82%	82%
Paper and cardboard	83%	83%

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Release date

January 2024

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Region

United Kingdom

Survey time period

2023 and 2024

Supplementary notes

Figures refers to recycling targets for obligated packaging producers under the producer responsibility guidance. Obligated packaging producers meet both of the following criteria: handled 50 metric tons of packaging materials or packaging in the previous calendar year and have a turnover of more than £2 million a year (based on the last financial year’s accounts).
This statistic uses original data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and includes copyright material licensed under © Crown, the Open Government License v3.0

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