At Embrace Eco, we were shocked when we discovered how little of our household plastic is genuinely recycled. It’s one of the reasons we felt so strongly about launching our refill business in the first place — because even with the best intentions, the system isn’t working the way we think it is.
💡 The Reality Behind the Recycling Logo
We’re all taught to rinse, sort, and recycle — but recent data shows that only 10–17% of plastic waste in the UK is actually recycled into new products. That means up to 90% of the plastic we put in our recycling bins ends up being burned, buried, or exported abroad with no guarantee of proper processing.
The numbers might surprise you. Official government figures suggest that around 52% of plastic packaging was “recycled” in 2023. But this includes everything sent for recycling — including waste shipped overseas — even though there’s no guarantee it will ever be recycled once it leaves the UK.
🔍 Where Does the Rest Go?
According to the Big Plastic Count by Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic (2024):
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17% of plastic is recycled domestically
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58% is incinerated for energy
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11% goes to landfill
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14% is exported, mainly to countries with weak environmental controls
Exports are still counted as “recycled” in official stats — but investigative reports have uncovered UK plastic dumped on roadsides, in illegal landfills, or openly burned abroad.
🧼 Why Doesn’t More Get Recycled?
There are a few big reasons for the gap between intention and outcome:
1. Contamination
Plastic that’s dirty or mixed with the wrong materials can’t be recycled. Think greasy takeaway containers or soft plastics like film and wrap. An estimated 525,000 tonnes of household recyclables were rejected in a single year because of contamination. Often, that waste ends up being incinerated or landfilled.
2. Exporting Waste
The UK still exports hundreds of thousands of tonnes of plastic each year to countries like Turkey, Malaysia, and Indonesia — shifting the waste problem elsewhere. Once exported, there’s no way to ensure that it’s recycled safely or ethically.
3. Lack of Recycling Facilities
Our recycling infrastructure is limited. While we can handle PET and HDPE (e.g. plastic bottles), most other plastics — like films, wrappers, and mixed packaging — have no viable route for recycling in the UK. As a result, only 4% of plastic films are collected for recycling.
4. Economic Barriers
Sometimes, it’s simply cheaper to use virgin plastic than recycled materials. This makes it financially unviable to recycle certain plastics, especially when oil prices are low. Until new policies (like the plastic packaging tax and extended producer responsibility rules) take hold, the economics often work against recycling.
♻️ What Can We Do About It?
We know this can feel disheartening. You sort your recycling, wash out the bottles, and trust the system to do the rest — but the truth is, the system is broken. That’s where Embrace Eco comes in.
We’re here to cut through the waste entirely.
No new bottles. No plastic wrap. No guesswork.
Just clean, everyday household products in the bottles you already own.
By switching to refills, you:
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Remove yourself from a broken recycling chain
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Keep plastic in use, not in landfill
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Make a visible difference in your own home and community
🌍 Our Mission Is Simple
We believe in honest sustainability — not smoke and mirrors. That means local delivery, full transparency about what’s in your products, and a refill system that works in real life, for real people.
So next time you finish a bottle of washing-up liquid or hand soap, ask yourself:
Do I really need a new bottle?
Or would a refill do the job — better for the planet and simpler for you?
Join the refill revolution with Embrace Eco.
Together, we can build a system that works — bottle by bottle.