Recycling targets were slashed after ministers were pressured by firms

RECYCLING targets were slashed by ministers following pressure from the plastics industry, it emerged last night.

The target for plastic packaging recycling in England fell from 52 to 49 per cent in 2016 and was cut from 57 to 51 per cent for this year.

The changes, announced last March, led to thousands more tons of plastic being sent to landfill, incinerated or dumped. At the time, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insisted it was cutting plastic packaging recycling targets to ‘reduce the burden on business’.

But documents released following a Freedom of Information request by Greenpeace reveal this occurred following sustained lobbying from the plastics industry. In its response to a Defra consultation, the British Plastics Federation (BFF) told ministers there had been such slow progress in hitting targets that they should be cut.

Another response pointed to ‘minimising long-term compliance costs on producers’ and ‘market difficulties’ in making recycling profitable. One complained of ‘the inconsistency of plastic recycling collections across the UK, due in part to the low value of plastic’.

The disclosure comes just days after it emerged that ministers south of the Border are unlikely to bring in a deposit scheme for plastic bottles. Officials believe the evidence from trials in Scotland is not strong enough.

Drinks manufacturers including Coca-Cola have opposed the introduction of bottle deposits, voicing concerns that it would undermine recycling in households.

Greenpeace said the consultation responses it received show companies were worried that higher targets might force them to stop using plastics that are hard to recycle or to increase the recyclable plastic used in their products.

Ariana Densham of Greenpeace said: ‘Those profiting from throwaway plastics are abdicating responsibility for the end life of their products, while blaming consumers for their environmental impact on land and at sea.’

The BFF said: ‘Ensuring that the UK has achievable, realistic recycling targets and that the UK plastics recycling industry can cope with demand was the sole reason why the BPF recommended that recycling targets were revised.’