Valpak Publish Their 2023 PackFlow Refresh Summary Report.

The “PackFlow Refresh 2023: Summary Report” provides an estimate of the amount of packaging placed on the UK market (POM) in 2022 and projects the POM and recycling rates through 2028. The report covers various materials, including paper and card, glass, aluminium, steel, plastic, and wood. It shows that for most materials, the amount of packaging placed on the market has decreased compared to 2019.

Paper and Card
The report estimates that the amount of paper and card packaging placed on the market (POM) in 2022 was 4,843k tonnes, marking a 3% decrease from 2019. The total tonnage of paper and card packaging recycled in 2022 is estimated to be 3,934k tonnes. The data indicates that UK domestic recycling of paper and card declined between 2004 and 2010, with recycling targets met through increased exports. Since 2017, export tonnages have fluctuated between 500-700k tonnes per quarter, while total paper and card recycling has ranged between 850-1,000k tonnes per quarter. Recycling targets for paper and card packaging have remained flat.

Glass
For glass, the report estimates that 2,562k tonnes of glass packaging were placed on the market in 2022, a slight decrease of 0.5% from 2019. The total amount of glass packaging recycled in the UK is estimated at 1,898k tonnes in 2022, with 82% of collected glass being recycled domestically. Unlike paper and card, domestic recycling drives the total recycling of glass packaging. With the decline in glass POM since 2019, recycling rates have gradually increased to meet modest annual targets. Over the last five years, total glass packaging recycling has fluctuated between 350-500k tonnes per quarter, with a relatively small proportion of glass packaging waste—about 17% on average—being exported.

Aluminium
Aluminium packaging placed on the market has increased since the 2017 and 2019 reports, with an estimated POM of 257k tonnes in 2022. However, aluminium packaging recycling in 2022 is estimated at 157k tonnes, leaving about 98k tonnes unrecycled. While there has been a slight upward trend in UK domestic recycling of aluminium, this trend has stagnated since around 2012. Increases in recycling targets from 2004 to 2015 were met with increased domestic recycling, but since 2015, the trend has reversed, with domestic recycling remaining static while the export of waste aluminium packaging has grown rapidly. By 2022, 64% of aluminium packaging waste was exported, primarily to Europe.

Steel
The report estimates that 474k tonnes of steel packaging were placed on the market in 2022, with 506k tonnes being recycled. However, only 47% of the collected steel packaging was recycled within the UK, a decline compared to previous years. The data shows significant volatility in the amounts of steel packaging waste recycled both domestically and abroad since 2004, with no clear trend emerging.

Plastic
Plastic packaging placed on the market has also declined since the 2017 and 2019 reports. The estimated UK plastic packaging POM for 2022 is 2,082k tonnes, a reduction of 208k tonnes from 2019. The report estimates that 62% of the plastic packaging POM (1,285k tonnes) was delivered to recyclers, with 44% (925k tonnes) exiting recyclers as recycled plastic. While increases in recycling targets have driven an upward trend in the total amount of plastic packaging waste recycled from 2004 to 2022, UK domestic recycling of plastic packaging was static at around 50k tonnes per quarter until 2011. Since then, UK recycling of plastic packaging waste has steadily increased, and in 2012, it surpassed the amount of plastic waste exported for the first time.

Wood
Wood packaging placed on the market in 2022 is estimated at 1,385k tonnes, showing a 1% increase from the revised 2019 figure of 1,383k tonnes. In 2022, approximately 4.3 million tonnes of waste wood were recovered or recycled. The volume of wood packaging on the UK market remained stable between 2019 and 2022, following an increase since 2017. Between 2004 and 2008, there was an upward trend in total wood recycling, peaking at 940k tonnes annually, followed by a decline to a low point in 2015. Since then, accredited wood packaging recycling has generally increased, except for a drop in 2020. Wood recycling saw a significant rise in 2018, reaching 48% in 2020, but then dropped to 35% in 2021, where it has since stagnated.

The full report can be downloaded from Valpak’s Website here.