Resources

Over the last decade, the circular economy has been a huge success story. In the UK it has grown by 20% between 2014 and 2019. 

While roughly equal numbers of jobs are held by men and women across the UK, only 25% of jobs in the circular economy are held by women. This understates and undervalues the role of women who frequently undertake unpaid activities such as volunteering within the sector.

In late 2022, WRAP, in conjunction with reusable packaging experts Unpackaged, brought together members of The UK Plastics Pact to deliver a series of industry roundtables. The roundtables considered the barriers and opportunities for category-focused collaboration, with the aim of driving increased uptake of reusable packaging across a selection of high impact product categories. The following report summarises the insights and recommendations gathered through this rich, industry focused series of dialogues.

The project demonstrated the potential to revolutionise waste recycling in a range of countries taking AI technology used in Europe,  and using it in the developing world.

Indian company Dalmia, working in partnership with Interface, aimed to demonstrate that through mechanical recycling, single-use plastic waste, destined for landfill or incineration, could be turned in to high value applications such as injection moulded car components and packaging. 

New legislation in Chile to ban single use plastics has led to the food service industry seeking alternatives.  

This project trialled and tested consumer attitudes and market appetite for a compostable sachet and pipet. 

Read how the project helped improve the collection and use of low value plastics such as flexible film packets in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. 

Discover how circular waste management practices can contribute to sustainable development. 

The project has optimised the process which puts waste milk back into high grade products like shampoo sachets.  

From new voluntary agreements in Colombia and Denmark to engaging citizens in 12 countries through Food Waste Action Week, our Annual Report gives an insight into what WRAP was busy working on in 2022/23. 

With government plans to introduce mandatory kerbside collections for films and flexibles by 2027 there is a growing need for a consistent terminology to effectively communicate to citizens. Between March 2020 and October 2022 WRAP undertook three rounds of citizen testing to measure the clarity and effectiveness of a wide range in terminology, with a clear preference presenting itself, as well as key principles for communicating positive recycling behaviour.

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.

In order to implement a real circular economy, we need to change the way we produce, consume and dispose of our products. The Accelerator Session ‘Plastics: from a linear problem to circular solutions’ will be delivered in collaboration by WRAP, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank on the 8th December under the frame of the 2022 World Circular Economy Forum (6th-8th December 2022) held in Kigali, Rwanda. This remote Accelerator Session will focus on the much-discussed issue of plastics, showing new data about the effect of plastic waste mismanagement and discussing the actions that many stakeholders and innovators are taking to explore and implement solutions.