There are several reasons why the UK exports its plastic waste, such as reducing costs, but the UK also lacks the capacity to recycle all its plastic waste domestically. Despite such large quantities of plastic waste being exported every year, these shipments still count towards UK recycling rate targets.
Plastic waste trade in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts
Key insights
- UK exports of plastic waste
- 0.48 Mt
Detailed statistics
Plastic waste exports from the UK 2000-2022
- UK exports of plastic waste in January 2022
- 31,433 t
Detailed statistics
Volume of plastic waste exported from the UK 2020-2022, by month
- Leading destination for UK plastic waste exports
- Netherlands
Detailed statistics
Share of plastic waste exports from the UK 2022, by destination country
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