WRAP has published its first annual report for The UK Plastics Pact, detailing the progress made by members towards the four 2025 targets, and setting out the biggest challenges ahead.
The UK Plastics Pact is a collaborative initiative aimed at creating a circular economy for plastics. It brings together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain with UK governments and NGOs to tackle plastic waste.
The report gives a comprehensive snapshot of progress against collective targets aimed at achieving a systemic overhaul of the plastics system in the UK. The report shows the following progress towards targets:
WRAP says meeting these four targets by 2025 will not only result in a circular economy for plastics, but also a reduction in virgin plastic production. This will be achieved not solely through increasing the levels of recycled content in packaging and products, but also as a result of refill solutions and moving away from problematic or unnecessary plastics.
Marcus Gover, WRAP CEO, said:
“The way that we make, use and dispose of plastic is transforming, and I am proud of the progress that the Pact has made so far. But there is no magic wand – we’re unpicking a highly complex and well-established system and making sure that we don’t simply displace the environmental cost elsewhere. Retaining the valuable role plastic packaging plays, especially in preventing food waste, is crucial. We can’t gamble with the climate in our desire to tackle plastic pollution.”
“Our Pact members have shown that they’re committed to this challenge and our new report demonstrates the breadth of action so far on tackling plastic waste. These aren’t token gestures – changes like these require a huge amount of investment and innovation. It shows that our members are working collaboratively towards the same goal.”
“Moving forward we face significant challenges, particularly around films and flexible packaging, increasing recycling, and development of re-use and refill models. These will be our top priorities as we work urgently towards a world where plastic is valued and doesn’t pollute the environment.”
Alongside the annual report, WRAP has published an updated version of the Pact’s progress report, which provides a detailed breakdown of actions so far and pledged actions for Pact business members. This report now also contains information for business members from the waste management sector.
Since The UK Plastics Pact launched in April 2018, a number of other countries have followed suit, with The Netherlands and France launching Pacts in the past year.
WRAP is also supporting the development and delivery of Plastics Pacts in Chile, Malaysia and South Africa, with more in the pipeline for 2020 and beyond.
As a member of the UK Plastics Pact, we are committed to working with our members to go Beyond Compliance and support them in making changes to their packaging. We can help you look at your data, the packaging you use and the opportunities for reducing the impact of your packaging on the environment, and in return reducing costs. Get in touch to find out how our team can help you prepare for the changes ahead.
