Chemical recycling breaks down plastic and turns it into its plastic components. It is a collection of technologies using heat, solvents, enzymes and sound waves to do so. The idea is that chemically recycled plastic can be used for new plastic products., but some of the messaging around it makes this method seem more ecologically sound than it really is. Chemical recycling uses pyrolysis, a process of heating material in a sealed chamber without oxygen. In this case, shred

What if your latest purchase wasn’t really a choice? What if the product was designed to be replaced, the promise of “free” delivery, and the item you threw away never really went away? What if the problem isn’t that we aren’t buying the wrong things, but that we have been encouraged to buy far more than we actually need? These are the questions at the centre of Netflix's Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, a thought-provoking documentary that takes a critical look at modern co

England’s waste system faces a second problem closely connected to lock-in: capacity. The Government’s statutory 2042 target requires residual waste to fall to 287 kg per person, while the interim target is 437 kg per person by 2030⁠. Defra’s modelling indicates that collection and packaging reforms will contribute towards the reduction, but further policies will be required to close the remaining gap. That matters because incinerators are long-lived assets. If more capacity

As plastic is part of our lives, using innovative solutions for waste management may be necessary. However, this can mislead the public into believing that plastic use is sustainable. When considering the consequences and complexities, these may not be sustainable solutions at all. Improved recycling collections - As plastic is part of our lives, it is obviously desirable to recycle as much of our waste as possible. Innovative collection methods may lead to higher rates of r

Incinerators are built to operate for decades. That creates an awkward question: what happens when councils are trying to recycle more and produce less waste, but long-term contracts still depend on keeping incinerators supplied? This tension is known as incinerator lock-in. In simple terms, infrastructure and contracts designed around a steady supply of waste can make it harder or more expensive to reduce the amount being burned. In an August 2026 open letter, the United Kin

Sustainable plastic solutions attempt to solve the plastic problem with innovation. Rather than reducing plastic production and use, ‘sustainable’ bioplastics have been developed, and better waste management processes have been proposed instead. Improved recycling collections have been suggested as a sustainable plastics solution. The more plastic that is appropriately collected, the more plastic gets recycled. However, a more complex system of collection may confuse or demot

Biodegradable plastics (a type of bioplastic) have been developed to attempt to mitigate the plastic waste management problem. Plastic once produced, doesn’t just disappear. It’s either sent to landfill, incinerated, recycled (only 9% of plastic has ever been recycled), or ends up polluting the environment. Biodegradable plastics can be broken down by microorganisms into safe by-products such as water, natural gas and biomass. A big concern with biodegradable plastics is whet

From a plastic bottle to microplastic particles, told as if it happened in a single day 6:00 AM It began the workday at 6 AM: filled, capped, handed to someone in a hurry. It held water for twenty minutes, then was put down and, missing the recycling bin by a few steps, dropped into a drain instead. It is made of PET, which is a recyclable plastic engineered to resist breaking down. It is built for permanence, but used within minutes. 9:00 AM Rain carried it to a stream, the

A new symbol is showing up on cups, bottles, and return bins — and it isn’t the recycling triangle. It marks something recycling never could: proof that an item belongs to a working reuse system. A Symbol for a System, Not an Item Recycling’s triangle just means a material can theoretically be reprocessed. The new reuse symbol certifies something different: that the container sits inside a real loop — collected, washed, and redistributed, again and again — by a system built t

‘Bioplastic’ is a general term which includes bio-based plastics, biodegradable plastics and compostable plastics. These bioplastics have been developed with the idea of creating a more sustainable plastics system. Traditional plastics are made from non-renewable fossil fuels. In contrast, bio-based plastics (a type of bioplastic) are made in whole, or in part, from biomass e.g. sugar cane or starch. These are potentially more sustainable, as biomass is a renewable source; in

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a rotating vortex of plastic debris, now spans three times the size of France, holding an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic. That number keeps climbing not because solutions don't exist, but because the industry responsible for managing plastic waste has little financial reason to shrink it. Since 1950, the world has produced 6300 million tonnes of plastic waste. Of that, roughly 9% has been recycled; the rest was incinerated, landfille

Plastic pollution should be on everyone’s mind, with single-use plastic items such as plastic bags and snack and food wrap packaging being at the top of the list. These items pose a serious risk globally by destroying natural environments, creating unmanageable waste, and increasing health hazards. A typical UK household generates 20 to 30 items of single-use plastic a week (most of which comprises soft plastic packaging such as film lids and food wrappers). This has led to a

Transitioning to a circular economy would mean moving away from a ‘throwaway’ economy and towards a system which prioritises resource-efficiency, reuse and repair, and designing out waste entirely. The UK lacks a set of ambitious policy recommendations that would structure this transition. A Circular Economy Plan for the UK was originally scheduled for autumn 2025. Yet, given the upcoming leadership change, climate organisations and some industry leaders worry that the govern

Every product takes a unique journey through the supply chain before reaching store shelves. But what about the packaging trail it leaves behind? To bring this into focus, let’s take a closer look at a product in high demand among UK consumers and produced across the country: British beef. In 2023, UK farmers supplied 80.9% of the beef that was consumed nationwide, offering a clear case for tracing the role of packaging closer to home. Beef is a nationally relevant product be

The plastic industry is pushing back against the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), claiming it “discriminates” against plastic. In a joint statement, three major trade associations, European Plastics Converters, IK, and Elipso, argued that the proposed regulation unfairly singles out plastic by imposing specific bans on plastic packaging, while providing exemptions for other materials. They claim the PPWR sets out different rules for plastics when it comes

As the public has become more concerned about plastic, Coca-Cola has deliberately hidden how harmful their products are to the environment. Coca-Cola is the world’s biggest plastic polluter and yet they present themselves as a sustainable brand. Coca-Cola has used deceptive advertising and misleading claims about their plastic packaging. They have presented recycling as the solution to the plastic problem, whilst producing more and more plastic. They have offered various vol

Soft plastic pollution is a global problem that negatively impacts the environment and the health of people living in countries with the most vulnerable climates and waste management systems. The corporations behind soft plastic pollution have not done enough to invest in effective waste management systems to handle the soft plastic they produce. Therefore, governments and consumers play a vital role in creating protections against soft plastic pollution. Various governmen

Coca-Cola has deliberately hidden the damage its ever increasing plastic packaging does to the environment. Their deceptive advertising and push for recycling as the primary solution can be seen as examples of greenwashing. Many voluntary promises for sustainable change have been made and abandoned. These misleading marketing claims can be seen as part of a wider tactic to distract the public and delay and derail legislation that restricts plastic use. Coca-Cola has lobbied

Single-use soft plastics, such as sachets and crisp packets, are produced on a massive scale but are nearly impossible to recycle. Nevertheless, they are exported across the world for waste management. The sorting process for soft plastic waste is difficult and requires that workers identify and separate over seven different types of plastics, often by burning them and smelling the fumes produced. To be recycled, the sorted plastic must then be cut into fine pieces, washed, a

In response to public pressure concerning plastic pollution, Coca-Cola launched their World Without Waste campaign in 2018. They appeared to accept some responsibility for the waste they produce and announced voluntary pledges for environmental change. In their 2022 business sustainability report, Coca-Cola presented voluntary targets for packaging. These included aiming for 50% recycled content in packaging, selling 25% of their products in reusable packaging, and collectin