Resources

The UK Plastics Pact is leading a global wave of change in the way we make, use, reuse and dispose of plastic. The UK's model is being replicated in other countries to form a powerful global movement as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy initiative. Since April 2018 the Pact has made meaningful progress working towards the four ambitious targets.

This report reviews the available evidence of the effects of plastic packaging in helping to reduce the amount of fresh produce thrown away in the home to inform discussions on providing uncut fresh fruit and vegetables loose/plastic-free in store.

This report details compositional analysis of plastics received and produced by UK Material Recovery Facilities and Plastic Recovery Facilities. 

This research assessed the impact of light-weighting plastic bottles on the sorting and recycling stages.

The estimated quantity of plastic packaging placed on the market & recycled from 2017 to 2025 and the probability of compliance with national and European recycling targets.

Wales has achieved great success in recycling and has come a long way in improving the recycling of plastics from households, achieving a 75% recycling rate for plastic bottles. It was also the first nation in the UK to introduce a single use carrier bag charge. However, there’s still work to do.

This online tool provides guidance to dairies who supply fresh milk in HDPE milk bottles to the UK retailers, in order to help them to maximise the recyclability of the milk bottles they put onto the UK market.

This online tool provides guidance to dairies who supply fresh milk in HDPE milk bottles to the UK retailers, in order to help them to maximise the recyclability of the milk bottles they put onto the UK market.

This research and development project has identified a number of solutions that would reduce contamination in the recycling process and enable the production of milk bottles that are visually acceptable with at least 30% rHDPE content.

An increasing number of local authorities are adding non-bottle rigid plastic packaging, comprising pots, tubs and trays, to existing kerbside recycling schemes. We have produced a guide which sets out key considerations, benefits and options of taking this approach.

A review of the current status of the household plastic film packaging recycling supply chain, incorporating collection options and emerging markets.