Despite advances in the UK’s domestic recycling infrastructure, experts say that limited capacity and rising processing and energy costs mean it’s often cheaper for councils and private companies to export recyclable waste rather than handle it at home.
While this saves costs, it means that the UK’s existing recycling plants are shutting down, resulting in job losses. With fewer recycling facilities in operation, councils are left with little choice but to ship recyclable waste abroad, which pushes the UK further from its circular economy goals.
Additionally, this has a knock-on effect on the EU plastics recycling industry, which experts say is at risk of “imminent collapse” unless urgent action is taken and raises serious sustainability concerns as well.
Mark Hall, dry mixed recycling expert of BusinessWaste.co.uk, said: “The UK’s recycling system gives people the impression that their waste is being reused responsibly, but much of it simply becomes someone else’s problem overseas.”
“What we’re seeing is a system that relies heavily on exports rather than on building long-term, sustainable infrastructure here at home.
“Until we invest properly in domestic recycling facilities, this cycle will continue, and the UK will remain dependent on other countries to handle materials that could easily be processed locally.”
What types of recyclable waste does the UK export?
The UK continues to rely heavily on overseas processing for its recyclable waste, with plastic being the most significant contributor.
Last year, the UK exported its plastic waste to many countries, including:
- Turkey (this is where the bulk of waste goes to, exporting 150,715 tonnes)
- The Netherlands (104,786 tonnes)
- Germany (51,006 tonnes)
- Belgium (43,005 tonnes)
- Malaysia (38,471 tonnes)
- Indonesia (24,006 tonnes)
While some of this waste is legitimately recycled abroad, a significant proportion of it is burned, dumped, or mismanaged. This, in turn, contributes to global emissions and pollution in regions with weaker environmental regulations.
What else does the UK export?
Plastics aren’t the only waste material recycled. The UK also exports millions of tonnes of other recyclable materials every year, including:
- Paper and paperboard waste: In 2023, the UK exported around 3.4 million tonnes, primarily to India, Malaysia and Vietnam, which together accounted for over 70% of total paper waste exports.
- Scrap metal (iron and steel): In 2024, exports totalled roughly 7.5 million tonnes, with the main destinations being Turkey, Egypt and India, countries now handling a significant share of the UK’s scrap processing.
- Glass waste: In 2023, the UK shipped approximately 445,000 tonnes, mainly to Portugal, Belgium and Spain, where much of it is reprocessed for reuse.
These figures highlight how deeply reliant the UK remains on overseas facilities to handle its waste, even materials that could, in theory, be recycled or recovered domestically.
The carbon footprint of recycling in the UK vs overseas
The UK is the third-largest exporter of plastic waste, after Germany and Japan. Last year, it exported 598,214 tonnes of plastic waste, representing a 5% increase from 2023.
When factoring maritime emissions, that export may generate around 60,000 tonnes of CO₂ alone, effectively eroding much of the perceived climate benefit of recycling abroad.
If the UK recycled this waste domestically instead of exporting it, the potential carbon savings would be significant. Recycling materials within the UK would eliminate shipping emissions and maximise the environmental gains from using secondary raw materials rather than virgin resources.
Data show that recycling one tonne of aluminium can save around 9 tonnes of CO₂, while steel recycling saves approximately 1.67 tonnes of carbon steel and up to 4.3 tonnes of stainless steel. Recycling paper saves about 4 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne, and recycling plastic saves roughly 1.5 tonnes.
If even half of the UK’s exported recyclable materials were processed domestically, the country could save well over one million tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year.
In addition to reducing the UK’s carbon footprint, this would strengthen the circular economy, create local jobs, and reduce dependence on overseas facilities.
