UK Plastic Pact Releases Progress on Tackling Plastics Pollution

Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) announced the first anniversary of the UK Plastic Pact with a progress report. The US Plastic Pact is a unique pact to tackle plastics pollution, and it sets four goals by 2025, while members of the pact have reported on each one of the goals. Some examples against each target include:

1. Eliminating problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative delivery models. 

M&S has replaced plastic cutlery with alternatives made from FSC certified wood and swapped plastic straws for paper versions. Waitrose has committed to stop selling plastic cutlery by the end of this year. Most retailers have removed plastic straws from sale and in cafes – Morrisons estimates that this removes approximately 30 tonnes of plastic and 65m straws per year 

2. 100% of the plastic packaging are required to be reusable, recyclable or compostable 

Members have reported widespread progress on removing unrecyclable black plastic from their packaging. For example, M&S phased out 1700 tonnes of black plastic packaging 

3. 70% of the plastic packaging to be effectively recycled or composted 

Members have reported significantly enhanced communications to citizens about what can be recycled across the board. 

4. 30% average cycled content across all plastic packaging. 

Danone has reported that all Evian 75cl, 1L and 1.5L bottles produced for the UK market now contain 50% recycled content

WRAP CEO Marcus Gover said: “When we launched The UK Plastics Pact a year ago, we knew that we had a monumental task on our hands. Tackling plastics pollution remains high in the public consciousness, and citizens quite rightly want to see action from the businesses that put plastic packaging onto our supermarket shelves and into our cafes and restaurants. So I’m delighted to celebrate the first anniversary of the Pact by revealing the huge array of initiatives members have been working on over the past year. 

Currently, the UK Plastic Pact reached 127 business organizations, including M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons, Unilever PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, etc. 

First established in 2000, WRAP is a not for profit organisation which works with governments, businesses and citizens to create a world in which we source and use resources sustainably. The UK Plastics Pact was the first initiative of its kind in the world. It is being replicated in other countries to form a powerful global movement for change as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Initiative. It is led by WRAP, the sustainability experts.