NEW for 2024! This award celebrates excellence in additive manufacturing solutions for the plastics industry. Created for businesses that are passionate about offering solutions for improving the efficiency, sustainability and productivity of manufacturing operations.

Who should enter : Companies that create new materials and processes as sustainable solutions for manufacturing in the plastics industry, which may include products, processes, integrations, softwares, materials etc

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

A fantastic opportunity to showcase talent in the plastics industry and recognise outstanding apprentices and trainees. 

Who can nominate an apprentice or trainee: Companies and organisations involved in the UK & IE plastics industry - suppliers, processors, OEMs - who have apprentices or trainees. Nominations can also be made by academic establishments. About the award: The judges will be looking for measurable results in areas such as academic achievements, skills development and overall performance in the workplace. The winning candidate will be an individual who goes above and beyond the call of duty, shows high levels of initiative and is pro active within their own environment. Companies will need to demonstrate the strategy behind an apprenticeship and demonstrate career planning.

£500 Prize Money for the Apprentice Winner kindly donated by Polymer Machinery Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMMDA)

Finalists will be announced in September 2024. An online interview with the judges will be arranged for each finalist during October 2024. The winner will be announced at the Plastics Awards Ceremony at the InterContinental London Park Lane on 22 November 2024.  Please read the basic criteria nformation before nominating to ensure your nomination is eligible.

Recognising inspiring and successful business initiatives that bring about positive change and innovation. 

Who should enter : This award is open to businesses and organisations in the UK & IE plastics industry that can demonstrate real business growth through initiative(s). For example, new business development, export growth, entering new markets, sustainability goals, customer care initiatives, quality programmes, innovative marketing strategies, taking advantage of external help and advice, implementing management/planning software, improving supply chain management, staff welfare and so on.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible

In today's ever-changing market, the importance of training has never been greater. Equipping employees with relevant and ongoing training is one of the best ways to increase productivity and performance. This award celebrates companies and organisations which view the development of skills as an integral part of their own development.

The judges will be looking for investment in training, examples of effectiveness, good appraisal, inclusivity and personal development programmes that help promote the goal of sustainable employability within the industry. Please include evidence of planning for the programme, the programme in action and a review of the programme.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

Material innovation is the key to a sustainable future. This award recognises material innovation and forward-looking vision to companies delivering new services, processes or products to the market.

Who should enter: This award is open to processors and OEMs processing in-house.

The judges will be looking at the company’s ability to leverage innovative thinking into successful new products, processes or services able to meet (unmet) needs in the market, while engaging constructively with its customers and/or the community.

This may refer to:

- the raw materials producer’s technical sophistication, i.e. development/implementation of sustainable new or leading-edge technologies;

- new or different ways of working; - leadership in addressing technical and/or societal challenges regarding plastics production.

Aspects the judges will be looking at:

-creativity, for example in the development of novel products, services, use of resources;

- solution-oriented thinking when confronted with challenges (e.g .regulatory issues, force majeure);

- the relevance, benefits and impact of the innovation in the market;.

- end-of-life options.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

This award will be presented to an inspirational individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the UK & IE plastics industry. Please nominate an individual you feel would be worthy of such an honour.

This category is open for nominations of industry professionals and individuals dedicated to advancing the plastics industry.

Note: You are not able to nominate yourself.

Plastics processing converts plastics raw material into finished components and products. This award recognises outstanding processor companies that can demonstrate excellence in this sector.

This award is open to processors (manufacturers of finished components and products using plastics materials) and OEMs processing in-house, which are able to demonstrate to the judges their overall excellence.

The judges will be looking for leading sustainable performances across a number of areas, which could include business enterprise and growth, technical innovation, people development, manufacturing efficiency, customer relations or addressing environmental concerns. In other words, the company needs to be an all-round world-class processor.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

NEW for 2024! Plastics recyclers play a vital part in the transition towards the circular economy. This award recognises plastics recyclers that reprocess plastic waste into high quality materials designed for use in the production of new products. 

Entries will need to demonstrate improved recyclability of plastic products and increased quality of recycled materials. Judges will be looking for information on collection and quality of plastic waste, evidence of technological improvements for waste sorting and design for recycling.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

New for 2024! This award focuses on innovative machinery advancements which increase the efficiency and effectiveness of plastic recycling processes. This includes machinery developments and innovation for sorting, grinding, shredding, washing, filtering, extrusion and other stages of the recycling process. 

Judges will need to see evidence of the effectiveness, efficiency, innovation, performance, quality and cost-efficiency that the machinery brings to the overall plastic recycling process, and how it contributes towards higher quality recycling.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

New for 2024!  Auxiliary

Supplier partnership categories enable businesses of any size, large or small, to show how they can work effectively, productively and sustainably with a customer on a particular project in their part of the plastics industry. The partnership awards put the spotlight on those who turn partnerships into unparalleled success stories. 

Who should enter: Companies who supply goods and services to plastics processors and examine the work they do during and after the life of a project. This may include multiple partnerships and collaborations within a supply chain. If you are entering this category you should try and tell us as much about the partnerships and how this brought the project into being as you can.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

NEW for 2024! Extrusion and Blow Moulding

Supplier partnership categories enable businesses of any size, large or small, to show how they can work effectively, productively and sustainably with a customer on a particular project in their part of the plastics industry. The partnership awards put the spotlight on those who turn partnerships into unparalleled success stories.

Who should enter: Companies who supply goods and services to plastics processors and examine the work they do during and after the life of a project. This may include multiple partnerships and collaborations within a supply chain. If you are entering this category you should try and tell us as much about the partnerships and how this brought the project into being as you can. 

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible

NEW for 2024! Injection Moulding

Supplier partnership categories enable businesses of any size, large or small, to show how they can work effectively, productively and sustainably with a customer on a particular project in their part of the plastics industry. The partnership awards put the spotlight on those who turn partnerships into unparalleled success stories.

Who should enter: Companies who supply goods and services to plastics processors and examine the work they do during and after the life of a project. This may include multiple partnerships and collaborations within a supply chain. If you are entering this category you should try and tell us as much about the partnerships and how this brought the project into being as you can.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

Supplier partnership categories enable businesses of any size, large or small, to show how they can work effectively, productively and sustainably with a customer on a particular project in their part of the plastics industry. The partnership awards put the spotlight on those who turn partnerships into unparalleled success stories.

Who should enter: Companies who supply goods and services to plastics processors and examine the work they do during and after the life of a project. This may include multiple partnerships and collaborations within a supply chain. If you are entering this category you should try and tell us as much about the partnerships and how this brought the project into being as you can.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

NEW for 2024! The aim of this category is to showcase the latest product innovations and sustainable designs in plastics.  

Who should enter: This category is for sustainable products designed for commercial or domestic use, and may include but not be restricted to the following sectors: packaging, automotive, fashion accessories, home furnishings and recreation, electronic products, sports and leisure, furniture, medical and pharmaceutical and commercial appliances.

Entries are encouraged from product manufacturers, designers and design engineers at consultancies, processors and end-use companies.

The product must be either:

- Designed in the UK/IE

- Recycled in the UK/IE

- Manufactured in the UK/IE

The product should be innovative and sustainable. 

Aesthetics, design and impact will be considered as well as fitness for purpose, market need and market potential.

Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your entry is eligible.

Do you have a member of staff who works tirelessly for your organisation, who always goes the extra mile, but who doesn’t make a big song and dance about it? Is there someone in your company, whether they work on the shop floor, the boardroom, or anywhere in-between, who you think should get much wider recognition for what they do for the business? 

If the answer to these questions is a resounding ‘yes’ then why not nominate them for the Plastics Industry ‘Unsung Hero’ award.

Sustainable Plastics magazine is asking companies to put forward a member of staff who always goes out of their way for the business and who you believe deserves greater acknowledgment for their efforts.

Simply submit the name of the employee who you think should be recognised with the ‘Unsung Hero’ award, outlining what he or she does in your company and tell us why you think they should win. It doesn’t matter if they have worked for your company for a couple of years or a couple of decades; the overriding factor will be the difference they make to your business. 

While there is no upper limit on time spent working for a company, nominated employees should have worked at the firm or in the industry for at least 12 months and still be working for the firm at the time of the nomination. 

Open to UK & IE. Please read the basic criteria information before entering to ensure your nomination is eligible.