Why calls for a plastic waste export ban have divided industry

Waste giant Biffa last month published a report calling for a ban on the export of waste plastics as part of a drive for all plastics to be recycled within the UK. 

The call is a bold one, given that exports are big business. Two-thirds of plastic waste separated for recycling in the UK was sent abroad for processing last year. 

But Biffa argues that retaining the material as a resource would generate domestic investment and jobs and avoid “unintended environmental problems in other countries”.