Resources

Report
15 March 2023
Initiatives:
  • Eliminating problem plastics
  • The UK Plastics Pact
  • Plastic packaging design
  • Global Plastics Pacts
  • Reuse and refill
  • Film and flexible packaging
  • Food and drink
  • Reducing and preventing food waste
  • Courtauld Commitment
  • Food Waste Reduction Roadmap
  • Fresh produce sector
  • Household food waste
  • Behaviour change interventions
Sector:
  • Manufacturers
  • Retailers and brands
Report
26 January 2023

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.

Initiatives:
  • Eliminating problem plastics
  • The UK Plastics Pact
  • Film and flexible packaging
  • Waste management and end markets
  • Behaviour change interventions
  • Collections & recycling
  • Consistency in collections
  • Service design
  • Communicating with residents
  • Contamination prevention
  • Collections and sorting
  • Kerbside collection
  • Recycling in urban areas
Sector:
  • Manufacturers
  • Retailers and brands
  • Waste management and reprocessors
  • Local Authorities
  • Packaging producers
  • Trade associations
  • National government and departments
  • Non-governmental organisations
Report
13 December 2022

A review of plastic waste management practices, life cycle assessments, challenges and opportunities

This report provides an overview of current waste management practices for plastic waste in the UK and critically reviews end of life plastic waste life cycle assessments to highlight best practice waste management methods. The report further identifies challenges and potential solutions to help move UK plastic waste up the waste hierarchy.

Initiatives:
  • Plastic Packaging
  • Eliminating problem plastics
  • The UK Plastics Pact
  • Global Plastics Pacts
  • Waste management and end markets
  • Re-use and recycling
Webinar
8 December 2022

In order to implement a real circular economy, we need to change the way we produce, consume and dispose of our products. The Accelerator Session ‘Plastics: from a linear problem to circular solutions’ will be delivered in collaboration by WRAP, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank on the 8th December under the frame of the 2022 World Circular Economy Forum (6th-8th December 2022) held in Kigali, Rwanda. This remote Accelerator Session will focus on the much-discussed issue of plastics, showing new data about the effect of plastic waste mismanagement and discussing the actions that many stakeholders and innovators are taking to explore and implement solutions.

Initiatives:
  • Global Plastics Pacts
Report
1 December 2022

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. 

Initiatives:
  • Eliminating problem plastics
  • The UK Plastics Pact
  • Plastic packaging design
  • Global Plastics Pacts
  • Reuse and refill
  • Film and flexible packaging
  • Waste management and end markets
  • Collections & recycling
  • Consistency in collections
  • Contamination prevention
  • Collections and sorting
  • Kerbside collection
  • Re-use
  • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
  • Market situation reports
Sector:
  • Hospitality and food service
  • Manufacturers
  • Retailers and brands
  • Waste management and reprocessors
  • Local Authorities
  • Packaging producers
  • Trade associations
  • National government and departments
  • Non-governmental organisations
Guide
1 November 2022

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 

Initiatives:
  • Plastic Packaging
  • Eliminating problem plastics
  • The UK Plastics Pact
  • Plastic packaging design
Sector:
  • Manufacturers
  • Retailers and brands
  • Waste management and reprocessors
  • Local Authorities
  • Packaging producers
  • Trade associations
Report
25 October 2022

We need to radically transform our relationship with single-use plastic packaging and a key part of this will be the move to reuse and refill for many everyday items we purchase.

Our latest report and research explores citizen behaviours around reuse and refill. In partnership with Asda and Unilever, we shadowed research participants across the whole of their shopping journey. From pre-shop preparation to instore experience, we evaluated how our trial participants interacted with refill zones and developed and tested a series of instore behaviour change interventions. All designed to improve the reuse and refill shopping experience for our participants.

Initiatives:
  • Plastic Packaging
  • Eliminating problem plastics
  • The UK Plastics Pact
  • Plastic packaging design
  • Global Plastics Pacts
  • Reuse and refill
  • Film and flexible packaging
  • Reducing and preventing food waste
Sector:
  • Hospitality and food service
  • Retailers and brands
  • Trade associations
  • National government and departments
  • Non-governmental organisations
Report
7 September 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.

Initiatives:
  • Plastic Packaging
  • Reuse and refill
  • Waste management and end markets
  • Public Sector Procurement Support
  • Food and drink
  • Reducing and preventing food waste
  • Textiles
  • Collections & recycling
  • Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
  • Electricals
Sector:
  • Hospitality and food service
  • Manufacturers
  • Textiles sourcers, producers and designers
  • Waste management and reprocessors
  • Local Authorities
  • Packaging producers
  • Trade associations
  • National government and departments
Report
17 August 2022

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.

Initiatives:
  • Plastic Packaging
  • The UK Plastics Pact
  • 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
  • Packaging producers
  • Trade associations
  • National government and departments
  • Non-governmental organisations
Report
5 July 2022

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

Initiatives:
  • Plastic Packaging
  • The UK Plastics Pact
  • Waste management and end markets
Sector:
  • Manufacturers
  • Packaging producers
  • National government and departments
  • Non-governmental organisations
Report
5 July 2022

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.

Initiatives:
  • Plastic Packaging
  • Food and drink
  • Funding
  • Textiles
Sector:
  • Manufacturers
  • Retailers and brands
  • Textiles sourcers, producers and designers
  • Waste management and reprocessors
  • Packaging producers
  • National government and departments
  • Non-governmental organisations
Report
22 June 2022

A high-level desk-based research study and series of stakeholder interviews has been conducted to ascertain the key non-technical challenges to the implementation of non-mechanical recycling in the UK, with particular emphasis on legislative elements. 

Initiatives:
  • Waste management and end markets
Sector:
  • Waste management and reprocessors