Plastic recycling industry's problems costing councils up to £500,000 a year

Chinese ban on waste imports is significantly affecting UK councils' ability to collect and recycle plastic

Major problems in the plastic recycling industry are costing local councils in England up to 500,000 extra a year, as they struggle to deal with the continuing fallout from import bans imposed by countries who are no longer able to take the UK's waste.

A survey by the Local Government Association (LGA) revealed nearly half of councils who responded (52) say China's ban is having a significant impact on their ability to collect and recycle plastic, due to rising costs. Fourteen councils across the country say their recycling costs have increased by an average of half a million pounds a year, in part because of rising processing charges per tonne.