A staggering 89% of the 11,701 obligated packaging producers in the UK are still supplying non-recyclable, hard-to-recycle, or mixed-rating packaging to the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These figures come from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) following a Freedom of Information request by BagKraft, specialist manufacturer and supplier of high-quality, sustainable bags, and bespoke promotional packaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The data, released under Environmental Information Regulations, show there is still an uphill battle for absolute sustainability as 14% of producers are supplying exclusively \u2018Red\u2019 rated packaging. This means 1 in 7 businesses remain entirely reliant on materials classified as difficult or problematic to recycle. A further 1% of producers supply strictly \u2018Amber\u2019 rated packaging, which carries significant recycling challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three-quarters (75%) of producers are currently supplying a mix of Red, Amber, and Green-rated packaging, meaning the vast majority of businesses have yet to fully transition away from problematic materials. With just 10% successfully transitioning to supplying strictly \u2018Green\u2019 packaging across their entire operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These findings highlight a significant gap between corporate sustainability goals and the reality of UK supply chains. With pEPR regulations designed to penalise difficult-to-recycle materials through higher fees, businesses relying on Red and Amber-rated packaging face significant operational costs alongside reputational risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jon Marling, managing director of BagKraft, commented: “This data from Defra is a stark reminder that while the conversation around sustainability is everywhere, the physical transition is lagging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Seeing that only 10% of producers are operating entirely in the ‘Green’ zone is a wake-up call. Moving away from ‘Red’ and mixed-material packaging isn’t just an environmental obligation anymore\u2014with pEPR fees escalating, it is a financial necessity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BagKraft urges brands and retailers currently sitting in the mixed or strictly red categories to audit their portfolios immediately. By switching to easily recyclable, high-performance alternatives, businesses can insulate themselves from regulatory penalties while meeting consumer demand for truly green packaging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A staggering 89% of the 11,701 obligated packaging producers in the UK are still supplying non-recyclable, hard-to-recycle, or mixed-rating packaging to the market. These figures come from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) following a Freedom of Information request by BagKraft, specialist manufacturer and supplier of high-quality, sustainable bags, and bespoke promotional<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[169,51],"class_list":["post-22985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-latest-news","tag-sustainability","tag-top-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22986,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22985\/revisions\/22986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}