Alex Hilton, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Beyondly

In this session our speaker will provide a legislative update, looking at the plastics packaging tax, extended producer responsibility and PPWR as well as other UK legislation relevant to incorporating recycled content, exploring the current impact of the legislation as well as looking to the future at what legislative changes are coming down the track on recycled content and how they will affect the plastics industry.

Biography

Alex joined the Beyondly board in 2025 as the fourth statutory director, bringing 20 years' experience and insights from positions in the civil service; latterly Head of Governance and Government Relations at PackUK. Notably, Alex has played a leading role in the recent development of the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM), a critical tool in helping producers assess their packaging under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

Formerly, as Head of Sustainability at HM Revenue & Customs, Alex advised on environmental tax policy development, including the Plastic Packaging Tax and strategy for a Net Zero UK Tax Authority by 2040, advocating for a just, low-carbon tax system. A respected thought leader in the field, Alex is an IEMA Fellow, certified ESOS Assessor, Low Carbon Consultant, and former ISO14001 auditor.

Tim Chandler, Senior Policy Adviser, Food Contact Materials, FSA

In this session our speaker from the FSA will explore food contact legislation and any changes to food contact regulations due to the SPS agreement

Biography

Tim currently works as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Food Standards Agency in London, UK. Tim joined the Food Contact Material policy team within the Chemical Safety Policy Unit in September 2017. Key responsibilities include policy development and risk management in relation to food contact materials and articles. His academic qualifications include a BSc (hons) in Biochemistry with Medical Biosciences and an MSc in Environmental Technology.

Helen Jordan, Sustainability Manager, British Plastics Federation

In this session the BPF's own Helen Jordan will provide her expert view on all of the issues currently impacting the UK recycling industry and how this will affect your business.

Biography

Helen is the Sustainability Manager at the British Plastics Federation (BPF). Helen oversees all of the BPF’s many sustainability activities including Net Zero, Operation Clean Sweep and inputting to the Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution. Helen also manages the activities of the BPF recycling group which she was previously the executive for. The Recycling Group focuses on issues such as food contact regulations, waste shipment regulations, legacy additives and promoting the development of recycling infrastructure within the UK. Helen is leading on the BPF’s work on Chemical Recycling. In 2021 Helen worked with a consultant to produce the BPF Recycling Roadmap which provided a forecast for what plastic recycling could be like in 2030.
Before working at the BPF Helen spent 7 years in local government working within the Waste and Recycling Team.
 

Michael McDermott, Director, Polymers - S & P Global Commodity Insights

For this session Michael McDermott from S & P Global Commodity Insights will provide a detailed account of how new laws change the economics of recycled materials. As well as exploring the impact that DRS will have long term.

Biographies

Michael joined S&P Global Chemicals Insights in 2023. He covers a broad range of polymers, with a focus on the European markets. Prior to joining S&P Global Michael worked at Wood Mackenzie for five years, achieving the role of Global Head of Polyolefins. He was responsible for research and analysis of the polyolefins market in EMEA and global, as well as providing support to polyolefins clients worldwide. Michael established himself in consultancy and data analytics working for Nexant for seven years. He also has five years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry working for a synthetic chemistry team at Pfizer and holds a PhD in Chemistry. 

Mireia Boada, Certifications Manager, Plastics Recyclers Europe 

In this session our speaker will talk about the need for certification and the benefits it will give as well as the current situation with certification and options available.

Mike Baxter, Director Government Relations UK and Recycling, Amcor

In this session Mike Baxter from Amcor will provide his assessment of the current technical barriers that we face in incorporating recycled content in packaging and any issues that we will face going forwards 

Mike Baxter, Director Government Relations UK and Recycling, Amcor

Martin Davis, Coveris Sustainability Advisor, Coveris

Andy Nudds - Hunter, UK Strategic Partnerships Director, Sharpak by Guillin

This panel discussion will explore important topics such as:

Has the PPT worked in incentivising recycled content?

What can be changed to make it more effective?

How will the removal of pre consumer from PPT affect how it incentivise recycled content

Biography

Andy Nudds-Hunter is a Senior Business Development leader with 39+ years in food packaging, representing Sharpak and Groupe Guillin across the UK and Europe.
Focused on sustainable packaging innovation, delivering commercially viable, regulation-ready solutions across fresh produce, protein and convenience categories.
He is an active advocate of circular economy principles and a member of the BPF Plastics & Flexible Packaging Group Management Committee.

Martin Davis is a highly experienced packaging industry expert with 30+ years in senior executive positions within the European flexible packaging sector. He has led Pan-European businesses in areas including Blown and Cast Film Extrusion, Conversion and Recycling, and is currently focused on supporting the development and delivery of sustainability strategies with a particular focus on plastic recycling.