Defra is to launch a new industry forum to try to salvage the future of supermarket soft plastic collections, as the repercussions of its Simpler Recycling strategy delays continue.
At its circular economy joint stakeholder forum last week, officials said they expected the engagement to begin in October or November. This would bring together local authorities, producers, retailers, waste management operators and reprocessors.
It comes after ministers announced that the start of mandatory kerbside collection of soft plastics in England was being delayed until 2030, three years after it was due to launch under the Simpler Recycling regulations. Scotland and Wales have both indicated they are pressing ahead with the 2027 launch date.
Retail and food manufacturer bosses have warned of a serious blow to hopes the EPR system would result in a major investment into local authority recycling infrastructure. Fears have been expressed that supermarkets may scrap their popular soft plastic collection services as a result of the decision.
Defra told stakeholders last week the new forum would focus on collections, sorting, recycling and end markets for the hard-to-recycle materials.
It will also look to draw up a roadmap to ensure the delayed date of 2030 is delivered on time.
A source told The Grocer: “There are real worries from brands that unless this forum gets going that investment could grind to a halt and we could see retailers take away their return points.
“They had always planned to take them away at some point in 2027. It’s a cost to them, with retailers bearing the entire operational burden and much of the costs.
“The fear is that the government is relying on the supermarkets’ goodwill far too much, with an absolute absence of an implementation plan.”
The industry collaboration on the Flexible Plastic Fund, which included companies such as Nestlé, Unilever and Mars, rolled out household collections of flexible plastic across 10 areas from 2022 to 2025, collecting more than 400 tonnes of flexible plastic across that time.
The source said: “The question in our minds now, as well as making sure there are end markets for this stuff, is how do you move from the 10 locations that the Flexible Plastic Fund got up and running, to 400 across England in three years?
“The biggest fear is that if you don’t do the hard yards of learning the lessons we could get to 2030 and it’s still not ready to go.”
Industry sources welcomed the idea of the forum. One source said it would at least mean the path to flexible plastics collections in England would not simply “disappear into the void”.
Defra last week cited high collection costs, insufficient UK sorting and reprocessing capacity, and currently limited market demand as reasons for the delay to the kerbside rollout.
The department also revealed it was working with the University of Birmingham and other research organisations to assess wider infrastructure challenges and was examining opportunities to support voluntary film collections during the interim period.
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