WRAP launches program to boost plastics recycling

United Kingdom-based WRAP has launched the UK Plastics Pact, which is being backed by the London-based Ellen MacArthur Foundation and supported by the U.K. Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The three groups indicate the “Pact has been designed as a platform to bring together businesses, governments, innovators, nongovernment organizations and citizens on a national level to rally behind ambitious targets and build a plastics system that works.”

The UK Plastics Pact is part of an international initiative, The Plastics Pact, created by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation which is designed to drive collaboration within countries and regions to achieve a circular economy vision for plastics set out in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s report, “A New Plastics Economy - Rethinking the Future of Plastics.”

Some 42 businesses have made their commitment to the UK version of the pact. According to WRAP, the members are responsible for more than 80 percent of the plastic packaging of products sold through supermarkets in the country. In addition, 15 other organizations also have shown a commitment to the Pact.

The goals of the program include:

• by 2025, the industry will eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models;
• by 2025, 100 percent of plastic packaging will be reusable, recyclable or compostable;
• by 2025, 70 percent of plastic packaging will effectively be either recycled or composted; and
• by 2025, all plastic packaging will include an average of 30 percent recycled content.

“Together, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rethink and reshape the future of plastic so that we retain its value and curtail the damage plastic waste wreaks on our planet,” says Marcus Gover, WRAP CEO. “This requires a wholesale transformation of the plastics system and can only be achieved by bringing together all links in the chain under a shared commitment to act.”

Ellen MacArthur, founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, remarks, “We are delighted to launch this pioneering national implementation initiative with WRAP in the UK. This bold new pact will bring together businesses, policymakers and the public to create a circular economy for plastics that tackles the causes of plastics waste and pollution, not just the symptoms.”

Another Plastics Pact is being developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in Chile, in collaboration with the regional organization B Corp TriCiclos. Efforts are underway to finalize pacts in other countries also.

WRAP describes itself as a not-for-profit organization that works with governments, businesses and citizens to reduce waste and increase recycling efforts in the U.K.