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The £20m plant trying to keep plastic waste in the UK

Sam Readin Corby
SAM READ/BBC A close up photo of a pile of empty soft plastic food packaging. Yellow and orange net bags for fruit can be seen, as can various other bags. To the right hand side of the picture a recycling logo can be seen that says "Recycle at recycling point. Don't recycle at home".SAM READ/BBC
Many large supermarkets collect soft plastics for recycling, which they do voluntarily

A new state-of-the art plant aims to help the environment by recycling more soft plastics in the UK. What difference could it make – and what steps should we all be taking to make sure our rubbish can be recycled?

Every year, more than 30,000 tonnes of crisp packets, frozen chips bags and film wrapping are to be processed at a new £20m recycling facility that opened last month in Corby, Northamptonshire.

Three large production lines turn retailers' waste into small grey pellets that can be taken elsewhere to be turned into new food packaging.

Last year 675,000 tonnes of UK plastic waste was exported, according to the environmental group Basel Action Network.

David Gudgeon, head of external affairs at Reconomy, which operates the Corby plant, says "it is far better environmentally, but it is better economically" to recycle the material in the UK rather than abroad.

ANT SADDINGTON/BBC A drone shot showing the front and top of a large grey industrial building. The roof has a zig zag appearance. The front of the building has some windows for around a third of the wall. A large sign says "Eurokey". In front of the building a car park is around 50% full. There is blue sky in the background.ANT SADDINGTON/BBC
The new Corby plant covers an area of 138,000 sq ft (12,820 sq m)

Several large plastic recycling plants in the UK and mainland Europe have closed in recent years.

Provisional figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show 57% of plastic packaging waste was recycled in 2025, totalling 1.2 million tonnes.

But plastic recycling capacity in the UK fell by 22% between 2023 and 2025 according to a report by Ceres, commissioned by waste company Viridor.

"Overseas there is a lower cost base entirely, in terms of labour, electricity [and] maybe health and safety standards as well," says Steve Morgan, director of Recoup, a Peterborough-based plastic recycling membership organisation.

"Fundamentally we are competing against organisations and businesses that produce the material at a far lower rate."

SAM READ/BBC This is a head and shoulders picture of David Gudgeon. He is wearing a high visibility jacket and a shirt and tie and looking at the camera smiling. He has a baseball cap style hard hat on his head. Behind him the background, blurred, are large bales of plastic.SAM READ/BBC
David Gudgeon says the Corby plant will be a "step forward" for plastic recycling in the UK

Gudgeon believes the new Corby plant can still work.

"What we are trying to do is use this investment to say 'Actually, you can keep this type of product in the UK,'" he says.

"We have plenty of businesses saying 'we want to work with you on that journey' at the moment."

SAM READ/BBC The picture shows a large industrial unit with grey machinery. A large tube is in the foreground with shredded white plastic coming out and falling into a large container. Beyond that a conveyor belt is taking the material into another piece of machinery.SAM READ/BBC
Plastic wrapping is shredded, washed and melted before it is turned into pellets that can be used to manufacture more packaging

Common recycling questions answered

MARGARET BATES This is a head and shoulders picture of Margaret Bates who is looking at the camera with a straight face. In the background is a fuchsia plant in bloom and behind that a number of houses can be seen. MARGARET BATES
Dr Margaret Bates recently worked for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on waste policy

Dr Margaret Bates, a fellow at the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, has worked on policy issues for more than two decades. Here she answers some common recycling questions.

Do I need to wash out my yogurt pots and other food containers?

"It doesn't really make a difference to whether it can be recycled or not. What it does do is make a difference to how pleasant or unpleasant it is for the people involved in the collection, transporting and sorting of [the rubbish]. If I can help reduce people working in situations where there might be rats, I will."

Can I recycle wrapping paper?

"Mainly yes, but avoid foil and glitter and remove bows and ribbons. A good way to check if wrapping paper is recyclable is the scrunch test. Hold it in your hand and scrunch it into a ball. If it stays in the ball when you release, it is probably recyclable. If it springs back, then it probably contains foil or plastic and it is not."

Can I recycle pizza boxes and chip cartons?

"Yes, so long as there are no lumps of food on it. If there are, get rid of that and recycle the rest."

Are there any recycling no-nos?

"Do not put things in your recycling because you think they should be recycled, even when your council says not to. 'Wish-cycling' does not convince the council to recycle it. 'Wish-cycling' causes contamination and costs councils money. If in doubt, check a recycling locator."

SAM READ/BBC This is a picture of a large industrial unit. In the foreground is a conveyer belt that slopes up into a machine, which is carrying large amounts of soft plastic wrapping. In the background other machinery can be seen. A large yellow tube runs from near the ceiling to the floor.SAM READ/BBC
Before the plastic reaches the Corby plant, it is sorted at another Northamptonshire facility seven miles away in Kettering

The Corby facility has created about 30 full-time jobs and is one of the biggest plants of its type in the country, according to Reconomy.

Government plans to make soft plastic recycling collections at the kerbside mandatory for local councils in England from 2027 have been delayed until 2030.

This is to allow local authorities more time to prepare.

"There isn't enough infrastructure to handle all that material at the moment, so that [delay] was inevitable," Gudgeon says.

"That is where there is a huge opportunity [for the Corby plant].

"It will be about a 500% increase in flexible plastic recycling in the UK. So you can imagine how many more of these plants the UK then requires."

SAM READ/BBC At the top of the picture two large orange tubes can be seen. Below is a large container which has thousands of small grey pellets in it. SAM READ/BBC
Pellets produced at the Corby plant are taken elsewhere to be made into other food packaging

A Defra spokesperson said: "Many councils already collect and recycle soft plastics, and we're helping the rest prepare for this becoming mandatory in 2030.

"Meanwhile, we're cutting the amount of waste sent to landfill, encouraging businesses to shift to more recyclable materials, and launching streamlined waste collections to boost recycling rates at home and at the workplace."

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