Resources
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.
- Plastic Packaging
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Global Plastics Pacts
- Waste management and end markets
- Re-use and recycling
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.
- 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
- 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
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
- Plastic Packaging
- Eliminating problem plastics
- The UK Plastics Pact
- Plastic packaging design
- Manufacturers
- Retailers and brands
- Waste management and reprocessors
- Local Authorities
- Packaging producers
- Trade associations
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.
- 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
- Hospitality and food service
- Retailers and brands
- Trade associations
- National government and departments
- Non-governmental organisations
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
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
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
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
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