Show Notes
Too often, plastics are discussed only in terms of waste or consumer use. But this framing misses a critical reality: plastics are a foundational manufacturing industry, underpinning sectors from healthcare and automotive engineering to construction, aerospace, electronics, and food supply chains. In many ways, plastics are the enabling infrastructure of modern production - the industry behind the industries we rely on every day. In this episode, we also turn to policy. Because despite its central role in economic resilience and industrial capability, plastics manufacturing is rarely recognised at government level as a strategic foundational sector in its own right. Instead, it is often treated as a subset of environmental regulation or waste management policy, rather than industrial strategy. Some important links: BPF Statement on BICS Scheme - https://www.bpf.co.uk/newsletter/article/british-industrial-competitiveness-scheme-bics-update.aspx Outcome of BICS Consultation - https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/british-industrial-competitiveness-scheme-consultation-on-scheme-eligibility-and-approach Annex A (list of SIC Codes and HS Codes) for BICS - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69dfd498f5069cdc548688a4/annex-a-british-industrial-competitiveness-scheme-sic-hs-codes.ods More Information on Operation Clean Sweep - https://www.bpf.co.uk/Sustainability/Operation_Clean_Sweep.aspx Sign up to Operation Clean Sweep - https://www.bpf.co.uk/Sustainability/register-your-interest.aspx BPF Key Policy Requests - https://www.bpf.co.uk/policy/requests.aspx Stabilise and Grow: An Action Plan for the UK Plastics Recycling Sector - https://www.bpf.co.uk/Publications/stabilise-and-grow.aspx
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