Resources
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.
- Plastic Packaging
- 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
- 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
In this webinar the Recycle Now and Clear on Plastics teams will get you up to speed on everything you need to know about WRAP’s first citizen campaign encouraging citizens to recycle plastic bags and wrapping at supermarkets.
- Plastic Packaging
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Film and flexible packaging
- Collections & recycling
- Contamination prevention
- Collections and sorting
- Kerbside collection
- Re-use and recycling
- Local Authorities
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.
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Food and drink
- Reducing and preventing food waste
- Courtauld Commitment
- Food Waste Reduction Roadmap
- Food date labelling
- Fresh produce sector
- Manufacturers
- Retailers and brands
- Packaging producers
- Trade associations
- National government and departments
- Non-governmental organisations
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.
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Global Plastics Pacts
- Reuse and refill
- Film and flexible packaging
- Food and drink
- Reducing and preventing food waste
- Courtauld Commitment
- Food date labelling
- Fresh produce sector
- Household food waste
- Retailers and brands
- National government and departments
- Non-governmental organisations
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.
- Plastic Packaging
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Plastic packaging design
- Global Plastics Pacts
- Hospitality and food service
- Manufacturers
- Retailers and brands
- Packaging producers
- Trade associations
- National government and departments
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.
- Plastic Packaging
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Retailers and brands
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.
- Plastic Packaging
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Plastic packaging design
- Reuse and refill
- Film and flexible packaging
- Food and drink
- Reducing and preventing food waste
- Retailers and brands
- Packaging producers
In this webinar you will hear about the latest national campaign from WRAP's citizen behaviour team, set to go live in March 2022, encouraging citizens to recycle plastic bags and wrapping at supermarket front of store locations, following the rollout of collections by retailers.
- Plastic Packaging
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Film and flexible packaging
- Collections & recycling
- Communicating with residents
- Contamination prevention
- Kerbside collection
- Re-use and recycling
- Local Authorities
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?
- Plastic Packaging
- 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
- Collections and sorting
- Kerbside collection
- 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
Following COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, WRAP published the report Delivering climate ambition through a more circular economy which identifies the potential for a more circular economy to create net increases in employment in the UK and the EU, whilst also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and demand for raw materials.
- Waste management and end markets
- Waste management and reprocessors
- National government and departments
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.
- Plastic Packaging
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Waste management and end markets
- Collections & recycling
- Material Recovery Facilities
- Recovered materials markets
- Market situation reports
- Manufacturers
- Retailers and brands
- Waste management and reprocessors
- Local Authorities
- Packaging producers
- Trade associations
- National government and departments
WRAP was commissioned by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a pre-pilot feasibility study and trial a range of ‘green nudges’ aimed to positively change individual-level citizen behaviours around single-use plastic at coffee shops in Sweden.
- Plastic Packaging
- Eliminating problem plastics
- Reuse and refill
- Manufacturers
- Retailers and brands
- Waste management and reprocessors
- Packaging producers