Duty of Care: Code of Practice for managing controlled waste (2026) consultation

3. Policy updates

Plastic film (including flexible packaging) comprises around a third of plastic packaging placed on the market each year. However, it is currently not widely collected for recycling.

The four nations have committed to require that recyclable plastic film and flexible packaging is collected for recycling from both households and businesses across the UK by 31 March 2027. Proposals to require collection of plastic film were consulted upon in 2021 as part of proposals for a UK-wide packaging EPR scheme^[1] and the commitment to introduce collections confirmed in the four nations government response in 2022^[2].

This policy aims to address the current gap in recycling infrastructure for flexible plastics, reduce environmental harm, and support circular economy objectives.

In Scotland, we propose that business separation and collection requirements are introduced by way of an update to the Duty of Care: Code of Practice for managing controlled waste. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 sets out duties of care relating to separate collection and management of dry recyclable waste . The existing Duty of Care: Code of Practice provides practical guidance on how to discharge the duty of care. This update stipulates that plastic films are a sub-category of plastics, and are therefore dry recyclable waste, and subject to the various duties, including separate collection, relevant to dry recyclable waste.

Household collection requirements for plastic film for local authorities will be introduced through the new statutory Household Recycling Code of Practice, due to be consulted upon by the end of 2026.

Equivalent duties are introduced in England through the ‘Simpler Recycling’ legislation.^[3] The Welsh Government and the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland will consider how this UK-wide commitment will be introduced in their respective nations.