Most councils fail to recycle plant pots
An HTA FOI investigation finds just 44% of English councils collect non-black plastic plant pots, potentially leaving horticulture with an additional £750,000 annual EPR bill.
The findings come four months after the Government’s Simpler Recycling reforms came into force, with the HTA warning that gardeners face a postcode lottery when it comes to recycling their plant pots.
The investigation contacted all 295 councils responsible for waste collections in England and found that just 44% currently collect non-black plastic plant pots. A further 10% say they plan to introduce collections.
Even if all those plans are delivered, only around half of councils would offer the service. This remains well below the Government’s 75% threshold for packaging to be considered widely collected at kerbside.
There is also significant regional variation. Yorkshire and the Humber is the only region to reach the 75% threshold, with 80% of councils collecting recyclable plant pots. Collection falls to just 25% in the North East and 27% in London.
The HTA says councils have cited a range of reasons for not collecting the material, including inadequate recycling infrastructure, limitations at Materials Recovery Facilities, existing waste contracts and uncertainty around the practical implementation of Simpler Recycling.
The horticultural sector began moving away from traditional black plastic pots in 2018, introducing recyclable non-black polypropylene pots designed to be detected by modern near-infrared sorting technology. Around 300 million plant pots reach UK consumers and households each year.
The HTA estimates that inconsistent collection could result in approximately £750,000 a year in additional Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) costs for horticulture. It says businesses have invested in recyclable packaging but are being penalised because the collection infrastructure has not been delivered consistently.
HTA Policy and Public Affairs Manager Samantha Smith said the findings demonstrated a disconnect between national recycling policy and local delivery. The HTA is calling on Government, local authorities, waste contractors and recycling operators to work together to ensure eligible plant pots can be consistently collected and processed.