The Environmental Services Association has published a position paper setting out its “vision” for a circular economy by 2040.
The report was launched during an evening reception at the National Portrait Gallery on Wednesday 4th June 2025 attended by Defra Minister, Mary Creagh, and Deputy Chair of the Government’s Circular Economy Task Force, Professor Paul Ekins.
The full document is available to view and download here and can also be accessed via the ESA’s Members’ Area
Speaking after the launch, Circular Economy Minister, Mary Creagh, said: “This Government is committed to ending Britain’s throwaway society.
“I welcome the Environmental Services Association’s landmark Vision 2040 report, which aligns with our ambition to transition to a more circular economy, boost growth and protect our natural environment.
“The expertise of the Environmental Services Association will be essential in shaping a waste roadmap and wider Circular Economy Strategy that works for everyone and builds a more sustainable and secure future.”
The ESA’s vision for the UK’s circular economy is to double resource-productivity against the national baseline and eliminate all avoidable waste by 2040 – a full decade ahead of government targets. This will include achieving a national average recycling rate of 75% for municipal-like waste streams.
By 2040, our current linear economy, and the disposal of residual waste to landfill, will be consigned to the past and the majority of discarded materials will be returned to economic use in a closed loop.
If policy and regulation can be designed and applied correctly to create investable conditions, ESA members will invest up to £15 billion in circular economy infrastructure over the next decade, creating 40,000 jobs in re-use, repair, reprocessing and production roles across the United Kingdom.
To achieve these goals, a range of policy, regulatory and societal interventions are required, which the ESA presents through five broad themes:
Reduce waste arisings
Central to achieving a more circular economy is to minimise the extraction of raw materials by being efficient with their use. This will require changes to societal consumption patterns alongside significantly increasing the prevalence of re-use for products and packaging before they are discarded. Designing-out waste by considering the real-world lifecycle impacts of products and packaging will also play a key role in reducing waste arisings.
Maximise the recyclability and recoverability of waste that cannot be avoided
All materials placed on the market should have a circular economy solution, meeting a clear end-of-waste specification as a product, construction material or low-carbon fuel with a viable end market. This will necessitate a design focus on the post-consumer journey of materials and may require switching materials or formats, or greater use of mono-material constructions, particularly for packaging.
Increase participation across the value chain
A circular economy requires everyone across the value chain to participate. Consistent and comprehensive recycling services across the UK and effective communications will support this.
Improve recycling and waste treatment processes
Limiting residues arising from the post-consumer journey of waste material will also play a key role in reducing avoidable waste to zero. This requires a focus on measures to reduce process losses; minimise sorting inefficiencies; create and deliver standardised outputs from waste materials and deploy technological innovations to support these goals.
Prevent waste from leaving the closed loop
The final piece of the puzzle is to prevent waste material from leaking out of the loop once it has been closed, which means eradicating waste crime and ensuring that exported has undergone domestic processing to achieve an end-of-waste specification.
The interventions identified in this report will be built on a foundation of strategic policy drivers carefully designed to unlock investment; incentivise desired behaviours and synchronise the economic value chain around circular economy outcomes.
