Wales presses ahead with plastic film collections despite England delay

The Welsh Government has confirmed it will continue with plans to introduce household collections of plastic film and other flexible plastics from 2027, despite all local authorities in England delaying equivalent requirements until 2030.

David Gudgeon, head of external affairs at Reconomy, the international circular economy specialist, commented: ‘It is encouraging to see Wales sticking with its plans to introduce flexible plastic collections from 2027 under the Workplace Recycling regulations. It is clearly confident that it will have the systems needed to process flexible plastics and keep materials in use by then. Taking this approach provides councils and businesses with confidence to plan for the future, while also strengthening its already strong reputation as a world leader in recycling, ranked second globally and first in the UK.

‘It is disappointing that England has chosen to delay these collections given that it was included in the original guidance published in 2024, which means that we won’t start seeing a truly circular economy around flexible plastics until 2030. We encourage the new Secretary of State for Defra, Dame Angela Eagle, to publish the long awaited Circular Economy Growth Plan for England which includes chemicals and plastics as one of six priority sectors.’