Resources

Report
18 October 2023

The Recycling Tracker is an annual survey of UK households that gathers evidence on recycling attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour. ​It is the largest and longest running of its kind, having been undertaken by WRAP since 2004. ​

Fieldwork was undertaken online from 20 - 30 March 2023. A total of 5,343 interviews were undertaken with UK adults who have responsibility for dealing with the rubbish and recycling in the home. The sample matches the known profile of the population, with quotas set on age, gender, region, social class, and ethnicity.

Initiatives:
  • Collections & recycling
  • Consistency in collections
  • Service design
  • Communicating with residents
  • Contamination prevention
  • Collections and sorting
  • Kerbside collection
  • Recycling in urban areas
  • Dry materials
  • Organics
Sector:
  • Manufacturers
  • Retailers and brands
  • Waste management and reprocessors
  • Local Authorities
  • Packaging producers
  • National government and departments
Report
14 September 2023

This guide is a summary of the top actions from best practice guidance developed by WRAP, Defra, and the FSA for each highly wasted food category that industry can adopt to reduce household food waste.

Initiatives:
  • Food and drink
  • Reducing and preventing food waste
  • Courtauld Commitment
  • Food date labelling
  • Meat, poultry and fish
  • Fresh produce sector
  • Dairy sector
  • Bakery sector
  • Ambient foods sector
  • Convenience, chilled foods and frozen
  • Household food waste
  • Behaviour change interventions
Sector:
  • Manufacturers
  • Retailers and brands
  • Local Authorities
  • Packaging producers
Report
6 September 2023

The Gate Fees 2022/23 report summarises the findings of WRAP’s sixteenth annual gate fees survey. The survey covers gate fees charged to local authorities in the UK for a range of municipal waste recycling, recovery, and disposal options.

Initiatives:
  • Collections & recycling
  • Recovered materials markets
  • Gate fees
Sector:
  • Waste management and reprocessors
  • Local Authorities
Report
25 July 2023

The scale of plastic pollution from composts and digestates, its potential impact and opportunities for its mitigation are largely unquantified. This project has explored some of these questions to develop an understanding of the knowledge base and data gaps.

    Initiatives:
    • Collections & recycling
    • Organics
    • Recovered materials markets
    Sector:
    • Farmers and growers
    • Waste management and reprocessors
    • Local Authorities
    • National government and departments
    Report
    25 July 2023

    The project demonstrated the potential to revolutionise waste recycling in a range of countries taking AI technology used in Europe,  and using it in the developing world.

    Initiatives:
    • Eliminating problem plastics
    • Plastic packaging design
    • Global Plastics Pacts
    • Film and flexible packaging
    • Waste management and end markets
    Sector:
    • Manufacturers
    • Retailers and brands
    • Waste management and reprocessors
    • Local Authorities
    Report
    17 July 2023

    From new voluntary agreements in Colombia and Denmark to engaging citizens in 12 countries through Food Waste Action Week, our Annual Report gives an insight into what WRAP was busy working on in 2022/23. 

    Initiatives:
    • Plastic Packaging
    • Circular Economy Fund
    • Public Sector Procurement Support
    • Food and drink
    • Textiles
    • Collections & recycling
    Sector:
    • Farmers and growers
    • Hospitality and food service
    • Manufacturers
    • Retailers and brands
    • Textiles sourcers, producers and designers
    • Waste management and reprocessors
    • Local Authorities
    • Packaging producers
    • Trade associations
    • National government and departments
    • Non-governmental organisations
    Report
    6 June 2023

    WRAP and Recycle Now's recycling tracker provides insights into UK citizen’s attitudes towards recycling as well as a greater understanding of their recycling related behaviours. It is an annual survey of UK citizens that gathers evidence on recycling attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour. It is the largest and longest running of its kind, having been undertaken by WRAP since 2004.

    Initiatives:
    • Collections & recycling
    • Service design
    • Communicating with residents
    • Contamination prevention
    • Collections and sorting
    • Kerbside collection
    • Dry materials
    • Organics
    Sector:
    • Waste management and reprocessors
    • Local Authorities
    • National government and departments
    • Non-governmental organisations
    Report
    12 May 2023

    Around 320,000 tonnes of edible fresh fruit and 1.3 million tonnes of edible fresh vegetables and salad are wasted in UK homes each year, worth an estimated £3.8 billion. Approximately £2.2 billion of this is wasted because it is not eaten in time.

    Initiatives:
    • Food and drink
    • Reducing and preventing food waste
    • Fresh produce sector
    • Household food waste
    • Behaviour change interventions
    • Consumer behaviour
    Sector:
    • Hospitality and food service
    • Retailers and brands
    • Local Authorities
    • National government and departments
    • Non-governmental organisations
    Report
    27 April 2023

    In September 2022, WRAP commissioned online consumer research into the current attitudes and behaviours of UK citizens in relation to home textiles, including what’s influencing consumers to make a home textiles purchase, through what routes are they buying and disposing of home textile items and what are their in-use habits in relation to those items. 

    Initiatives:
    • Textiles
    • Consumer behaviour
    • Re-use & recycling
    • Non-clothing textiles
    • Textiles 2030
    • Consumer behaviour
    Sector:
    • Retailers and brands
    • Textiles sourcers, producers and designers
    • Waste management and reprocessors
    • Local Authorities
    • Trade associations
    • National government and departments
    • Non-governmental organisations
    Report
    23 March 2023

    In the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy for England, textiles was highlighted as a priority waste stream for which the ‘polluter pays’ principle should be invoked and Defra committed to review and consult on the potential of an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme and product standards for the fashion and textiles industry.

    Initiatives:
    • Textiles
    • Re-use & recycling
    • Textiles 2030
    • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
    Sector:
    • Retailers and brands
    • Waste management and reprocessors
    • Local Authorities
    • National government and departments
    Report
    9 March 2023

    In this report, we gather evidence on the food waste attitudes, knowledge and behaviour of UK households through a series of citizen surveys carried out during 2022. The publication is part of the largest and longest running series of its kind, having been undertaken by WRAP since 2007.  

    The latest results cover a period when the UK began to settle into a ‘new normal’ after all Covid-19 restrictions ended in February 2022, followed immediately by an evolving cost-of-living crisis. It was another year of adjustment in the daily routines of many UK citizens, including working patterns, feelings of time pressure and eating habits, which all appear to influence food waste.
     

    Initiatives:
    • Food and drink
    • Measuring and reporting food waste
    • Courtauld Commitment
    • Household food waste
    Sector:
    • Hospitality and food service
    • Retailers and brands
    • Local Authorities
    • National government and departments
    Report
    20 February 2023

    WRAP and Recycle Now's recycling tracker provides insights into UK citizen’s attitudes towards recycling as well as a greater understanding of their recycling related behaviours. It is an annual survey of UK citizens that gathers evidence on recycling attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour. It is the largest and longest running of its kind, having been undertaken by WRAP since 2004.

    Initiatives:
    • Collections & recycling
    • Consistency in collections
    • Communicating with residents
    • Contamination prevention
    • Collections and sorting
    • Kerbside collection
    • Recycling in urban areas
    • Dry materials
    • Organics
    Sector:
    • Waste management and reprocessors
    • Local Authorities
    • National government and departments