War on plastic triggers recruitment fallout for manufacturers

THE war on plastic waste is risking a crisis in Britain’s third-largest manufacturing sector, as young people shun the industry.

A survey of plastics makers has found that even though companies are well-placed for growth, they are struggling to hire workers. It is particularly difficult to hire entry-level personnel, raising fears that new recruits into the sector are being put off by the criticism of single-use plastics that are damaging the world’s oceans and marine ecosystems.

Philip Law, the director general of the British Plastics Federation, said the Government’s war on plastic is being “expressed in a way that is putting young people off ”. He warned that the political focus on single-use plastics could undermine an industry that also serves the automotive, manufacturing and healthcare sectors, and supports more than 166,000 jobs.

“Policy on plastic should not put these jobs at risk or put young people off going into a sector that is critical to so many parts of our economy now and in the future,” he wrote. His warning follows a poll of more than 500 UK plastics makers, which found that half the companies struggle to attract staff – and 5pc have given up recruiting at all.

The search for employees is in contrast to findings published just five years ago in which only a fifth of plastics manufacturers reported any difficulty filling vacancies. Mr Law fears that if the Government looks to impose further curbs it could prove “self-defeating”.

“There are rumours afloat that the Government is considering significantly raising the fees that plastics producers pay to produce their product – as well as levying a new plastics tax on the industry that would take funds from manufacturers and put them into government coffers,” he wrote.

“On the face of it, this may look like easy politics – but it would be utterly self-defeating in the long run.

“Irrespective of the impact on jobs and manufacturing, it would also stymie investment in new technology to make plastic even more recyclable than it is now.”