UK Packaging Pact Expands Scope To All Materials

A new industry-wide initiative aimed at transforming the UK’s entire packaging system has been launched, bringing together 100 organisations in a 10-year collaborative programme to drive progress on sustainability and circularity.

Image: WRAP

The UK Packaging Pact, led by WRAP, expands on the previous UK Plastics Pact to cover all packaging materials, including glass, paper, metal, and bio-based materials, according to a press release from the environmental NGO. 

The Pact was officially unveiled at an event at Sustainable Ventures this week, with founding signatories spanning the supply chain, including major retailers, manufacturers, and waste operators such as Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Unilever.

Government departments and industry bodies including Defra, the Food and Drink Federation, the British Retail Consortium, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), and the British Plastics Federation are also supporting the initiative.

The programme aims to deliver coordinated action across sectors to reduce waste, cut emissions, and reshape how packaging is designed, used and recovered. 

WRAP said the initiative comes at a critical time, with global waste spiralling and geopolitical pressures driving volatility in energy and oil prices. 

According to the World Bank, waste could reach 3.86 billion tonnes by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario, while oil-linked costs continue to impact packaging materials such as virgin plastic.

Catherine David, CEO of WRAP, described the Pact as a “complete system approach” that brings together key players across the value chain to deliver practical change. 

“Today, we begin to unlock progress – to reduce businesses costs - to mitigate against risks – and to prepare for the future,” David explained. 

“In the UK Packaging Pact, we offer an exclusive mechanism to create workable policies to deliver the circularity outcomes needed by businesses and government – and crucially, the planet.”

The launch also coincides with major regulatory reforms in the UK, including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the Deposit Return Scheme, and Simpler Recycling. 

WRAP said the Pact would support both businesses and policymakers by helping ensure these changes are effective and aligned with industry needs.

Signatories will work collaboratively to reduce costs and emissions, increase recycled content, and scale reuse and refill systems, while also preparing for evolving UK and EU regulations. 

The programme will also focus on improving data harmonisation and unlocking investment in recycling infrastructure.

Four core goals underpin the initiative: optimising packaging design to reduce single-use materials, scaling reuse and refill systems, supporting infrastructure investment, and harmonising data to improve traceability and decision-making.

In its first year, the Pact will prioritise identifying opportunities to reduce material use, addressing non-recyclable packaging formats, supporting the development of EPR policy, and exploring mechanisms to incentivise reuse and infrastructure investment.

Unilever, one of the founding signatories, said the Pact would provide an important platform for collaboration across industry and government to accelerate progress on reducing packaging waste and increasing circularity.