Resources

This report is the latest in our bi-annual surveys of UK households and gathers evidence on food waste attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour. It is the largest and longest running series of its kind, having been undertaken by WRAP since 2007.

Plastics play an important role in our daily lives and can often play a critical role, for instance, in protecting food and preventing food waste. But we must take urgent action where the use of plastic is problematic or unnecessary, to stop the issues plastic presents to our environment.

UK Plastics Pact members account for two thirds of all consumer plastic packaging used in the UK and they are strengthening their ambition in the fight against plastic waste. Building on the eight problem plastics identified for elimination in 2019, six new plastic items and materials have been set for elimination.

The research looked at: 

• If packaging extends the shelf life of fruit and vegetables;
• If selling items loose enables households to buy an appropriate amount for their needs; and
• How people make decisions about when to throw away fruit and vegetables, and what role does a ‘Best Before’ date have on these decisions.

Ground-breaking research into the relationship between plastic packaging and five fruit and vegetable items frequently wasted at home, as well as the impact of date labels and storage temperatures, reveals significant opportunities to reduce both food waste and plastic packaging.

Around 10 million tonnes of food waste is generated post-farm gate every year in the UK and around 70% of this comes from households. Fresh fruit and vegetables account for a third of all household food thrown away that could have been eaten (1.6 million tonnes; £3.8 billion). Almost half of the fresh fruit and vegetables are discarded due to not being eaten in time.

Learn about the attitudes and behaviours around plastics, packaging, instore refill and bring-back recycling. The research has been co-funded by UK Research and Innovation.

Our third Annual Report provides the most complete picture of action on tackling plastic packaging waste in the UK. It combines aggregated Pact member data from right across the supply chain, with examples of members progress against the targets. This enables us pinpoint where specific action is needed.

So, three years in, what does the picture look like?

In the first six months of its existence, Textiles 2030 has recruited over 92 signatories and affiliates, spanning brands, retailers, re-use and recycling organisations from across the fashion and textiles sector.  Textiles 2030 signatories already represent 62% of all clothing put on the market in the UK.  

The 2021 Plastics Market situation report provides in-depth information on the latest economic, market and regulatory trends affecting the capture and recycling of plastics. It explores key developments over the past few years and highlights the challenges and opportunities for the decade ahead.

Total UK food & drink consumption footprint and pathway to a 50% reduction by 2030. 

New research shows:

• How food system greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have changed from 2015 to 2019.
• Where GHG emissions ‘hotspots’ remain in the UK food system (including in supply chains overseas).
• Priority areas for action in the short term to help achieve the targeted reduction by 2030.

Highlighting progress made in the third year of the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap:

• 251,000 tonnes of food worth £365 million saved from waste.
• 670,000 tonnes of GHG emissions potentially avoided.
• 145 million meals redistributed.
• Major opportunities for greater impact remain – industry action focused on Hospitality and Food Service sector and whole chain collaboration.

This review examines current information, both WRAP published work and externally published work, to provide an evidence base around the effectiveness of on-pack recycling information to encourage citizen recycling behaviours. It also contains short recommendations on how on-pack recycling information may be improved based on the information found in the existing literature.