Wrap doubts ‘crucial’ plastics targets will be met ahead of 2025 deadline

In a new report NGO Wrap says it does not believe crucial plastics targets will be met in time for the government’s 2025 deadline.

Whilst the report showed that strong progress had been made by UK businesses in tackling plastic waste, it also found that regulation was critical for hitting all the targets and ensuring they happened in time for the 2025 deadline.

The targets include eliminating problematic or unnecessary single-use packaging throughout the delivery model, with 100% of plastics being reusable recyclable or compostable.

There are also targets to ensure that at least 70% of packaging is being effectively recycled and composted and ensuring an average of 30% recycled content across all plastic packaging.

It found that the lack of widespread collection, sorting and recycling of plastic bags remained a key issue, requiring extended producer responsibility (EPR), mandatory collection and reform to the plastics packaging tax in order to enable output from non-mechanical recycling.

Among members who had signed the Plastics Pact, nearly all items which had been identified as problematic and unnecessary had been eliminated sale, while total household packaging has fallen by 8%.

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Recycled content has also tripled and contributed to a carbon reduction of 10.5%, with more than 70% of household packaging now able to be recycled when placed in recycling.

In addition, the amount of plastic recycled on home soil rather than shipped overseas has increased from 37% in 2018 to 54% in 2022.

However, the retailer is calling for more to be done on regulation, with EPR regulations continue to cause confusion among retailers, with the rules being delayed until 2025.

“We are proud to be at the forefront of driving global change on plastic pollution. Public-private partnerships like The UK Plastics Pact show just what’s achievable through collaboration. We believe passionately that these models deliver big changes – fast,” said Wrap CEO Harriet Lamb.

“It also shows the key role regulation must also play. The challenge ahead is huge, but so too are the opportunities to benefit from a circular economy for plastics and improve the situation for people affected by plastic waste around the world,” she continued.

She added: “The network of Plastic Pacts around the world are blueprints which can be replicated and scaled to tackle plastics pollution.”