Goal #8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth

Economic growth and employment opportunities are at the heart of societies’ development. In the UK, the plastics industry directly employs around 182,000 people, making it the second largest employer within the manufacturing sector.[1]

• With over 6,000 companies operating in the industry, most of these represent small and medium-sized enterprises that generate high-quality jobs with a focus on training and innovation. 

• At a European level, over 1.5 million people work in the plastics industry, while growing sectors within the industry such as recycling and waste management create new employment opportunities around the world.[2]

• It is estimated that every job in manufacturing results in 2.6 jobs within the wider economy. Within the UK, this means that the plastics industry directly and indirectly supports just under 500,000 jobs.

The Circular Economy and Job Creation

Ample opportunities for new jobs to be created exist as part of waste management, recycling as well as other economic activities that make up the circular economy.

The BPF and WRAP organised a first-of-its-kind investment summit during 2019, where players from the UK investment community were invited to discuss the ample opportunities that exist as part of developing the circular economy for plastics. Higher investment in the local recycling infrastructure would boost the capacity of the UK to recycle a larger quantity of plastic waste while creating jobs and boosting the market for secondary materials.[3]

The BPF estimates that around 25,000 new jobs can be created by 2030 if the UK plastic recycling capacity is significantly extended and modernised.[4]  

The development of secondary material markets through improvement of domestic reprocessing will support the UK’s industrial strategy. This will have a knock-on effect on improving skills and creating quality jobs in sectors that have suffered from job losses due to globalisation and mechanisation. 

Raising the resource productivity of the UK’s manufacturing industry can improve overall economic growth, help contribute to skill development and spur net job creation.[5]