UK businesses make world-first Plastic Pact to slash plastic waste
More than 40 companies have signed the UK Plastic Pact, a new voluntary initiative that aims to slash plastic waste.
The businesses which include Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Aldi, Tesco, Coca-Cola European Partners, and Unilever, have signed up to the initiative in a bid to tackle the global pollution crisis.
According to the BBC, the companies are responsible for over 80% of the UK's supermarket plastic packaging.
Under the pact, the signatories have pledged to completely eliminate “problematic or unnecessary” single-use plastic packaging by developing new designs and alternative delivery methods.
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On top of this, the companies have also pledged to make all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable and that at least 70% of this packaging actually makes it to recycling or composting facilities.
Led by the UK’s Waste and Resources Action Programme, better known as WRAP, the pact aims to help the sector move away from a linear plastics economy, where we take, make and dispose of plastic, towards a circular system.
The companies are working closely with the UK government, trade associations and campaigners to implement the pact.
Wrap’s chief executive Marcus Gover said: “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 wrecks on our planet.
“This requires a whole scale transformation of the plastics system and can only be achieved by bringing together all links in the chain under a shared commitment to act.”
Speaking of the pact, Mike Coupe, CEO of Sainsbury’s, added: “We all have a role to play in reducing the amount of plastics used in society.
“For our part, we accept our responsibilities and are working hard to reduce the use of plastic across our business.”