Resources

This updated yogurt guidance (Publication date April 2018, updated August 2023) is to help supply chain businesses identify and implement actions that encourage consumers to reduce their household food waste.

It covers advice and insights on date labelling, storage, changes to products, packaging design and retail.

This updated guidance (Publication date November 2017, updated August 2023) helps retailer and supply chain businesses identify and implement actions that deliver the greatest reductions to help consumers reduce household food waste, by explaining and demonstrating which changes to fruit and vegetable products, packs, labels and the retail environment are most effective and impactful.

This guidance has been designed in collaboration with signatories of the Courtauld Commitment 2030 and members of The UK Plastics Pact to optimise savings in plastic packaging and food waste. The collaboration is also developing a Pathway to selling more uncut fresh produce loose (‘the Pathway’) to identify which fresh produce items will be sold loose and when.

Research published by WRAP in 2022 found that adopting these actions for the five items studied (apples, bananas, broccoli, cucumber and potatoes) alone could:

• Prevent 100,000 tonnes of household food waste each year.
• Amount to 10,300 tonnes of plastic packaging removed.
• This would deliver a combined emissions equivalent to 130,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

Indian company Dalmia, working in partnership with Interface, aimed to demonstrate that through mechanical recycling, single-use plastic waste, destined for landfill or incineration, could be turned in to high value applications such as injection moulded car components and packaging. 

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. 

With government plans to introduce mandatory kerbside collections for films and flexibles by 2027 there is a growing need for a consistent terminology to effectively communicate to citizens. Between March 2020 and October 2022 WRAP undertook three rounds of citizen testing to measure the clarity and effectiveness of a wide range in terminology, with a clear preference presenting itself, as well as key principles for communicating positive recycling behaviour.

Through The UK Plastics Pact we are redesigning the plastics system, working across the entire plastics value chain to reduce its climate impact, by stopping plastic waste, and the harmful emissions of new plastic production, keeping the material in the economy and out of the environment.

We are over halfway to The UK Plastics Pact targets and our 2021-22 annual report gives an honest appraisal of progress and challenges. 

Setting out the UK’s vision for best in class design in rigid household plastic packaging. Includes plastic packaging currently classed as recyclable and the ambition for recycled content. 

Updated Guidance: November 2022 

This report from WRAP and the University of Leeds builds on previous research to provide a quantitative assessment of possible policy interventions to reduce resource consumption and green house gas emissions associated with their production.

Non-mechanical recycling has the potential to significantly increase the UK’s recycling rates, enable recycled content to be used back in packaging and divert valuable resources from landfill and incineration. Working alongside traditional mechanical recycling, it will have a big impact towards the redesign of our plastics system in the UK and our vision of a circular economy for plastics.

This paper sets out the WRAP’s position on the use of non-mechanical recycling technologies and how it must be effectively utilised to support the transition towards a circular economy for plastics in the UK.

This brochure showcases projects delivered by the Resource Action Fund (RAF) grants within the plastic policy area.

The Resource Action Fund (RAF) was an £18 million fund, provided by Defra to support resource efficiency projects, with the goal of diverting, reducing, and better managing waste.

The UK Plastics Pact is transforming the way that the UK makes, uses and disposes of plastic. 

Over halfway to our 2025 targets, the Roadmap sets out the specific milestones and activities which are critical if we are to achieve our goals in the years remaining.