In an article published on April 26, 2018, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced that the UK Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP), supported by the UK’s Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), has just launched The UK Plastics Pact.
This new platform is part of an international initiative, The Plastics Pact, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The main aim of The Plastics Pact and its national branches is “to drive collaboration within countries and regions to achieve the shared vision of a circular economy for plastics, where plastics never end up as waste.” Bringing together local stakeholders, each Plastics Pact will “set . . . time-bound targets” aiming “to eliminate unnecessary and problematic single-use plastic packaging and redesign all plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable,” and “increase the collection and recycling of plastic packaging, as well as the recycled content used in plastic packaging.”
Dame Ellen MacArthur of Ellen MacArthur Foundation said that “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 symptoms.” This will be achieved through “innovation, better packaging design, and [optimizing] end-of-use systems,” expected to “not only generate long-term benefits for the environment, but . . . also a huge economic opportunity.”
Read more
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (April 26, 2018). “UK Plastics Pact launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WRAP.”
Josef Jame Whitworth (April 26, 2018). “Danone, Coca-Cola, Nestlé among firms to sign plastic packaging pledge.” Beverage Daily
Elizabeth Skoda (April 26, 2018). “UK business pact to tackle plastic pollution.” Packaging Europe
Reuters (April 26, 2018). “Over 40 companies pledge to cut UK plastic pollution.”
Plastics News Europe (April 27, 2018). “UK Plastic Pact sets ambitious targets to tackle pollution.“
