The British Plastics Federation (BPF, London; www.bpf.co.uk) has called on whichever party wins the UK’s looming general election to plough money being raised through the plastic packaging tax (PPT) back into new recycling facilities, and wants any new government to accept the mass balance formula for calculating PPT in order to boost chemical recycling’s potential across the country.

The BPF spelled out these and other policy requests in a manifesto published last week in anticipation of a general election, which is due to take place this year. While a date has yet to be announced for the election, Rishi Sunak’s premiership has come under fire from members of his own ruling Conservative party as well as from opposition politicians. The Labour party – led by Kier Starmer – currently leads in the opinion polls by a margin of around 20%.

In addition to investing tax receipts in recycling infrastructure and ramping up chemical recycling activities, the BPF’s manifesto highlighted the importance of plastics to both the UK economy and society and called for greater government recognition of the industry’s contribution. 

Related: BPF urges government to respond to mass balance consultation

“Acknowledgement as a foundation industry would not only give our sector the recognition it deserves, but also boost recruitment. The current negative tone from government towards plastics is contributing to long-term vacancies that are damaging the growth of this key UK manufacturing sector,” the manifesto said.

The BPF also asked for greater acknowledgement around “the significant role the UK plastics industry can play in enabling the UK to become net zero by 2050”, along with a series of packaging reforms aimed at speeding up changes to waste collection and packaging legislation, including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), and Simpler Recycling.

In the area of skills, the BPF said it wanted to see additional support for businesses to replace lost expertise and a further review of the effectiveness of the apprenticeship levy for manufacturers. It also sought smoother trade and regulatory alignment with the EU “where it makes sense” and more support for the overseas trade show programme. 

It also called for grants to back the deployment of energy efficient machines “to assist industry’s decarbonisation, productivity, and competitiveness”.