UK Packaging Pact aims to revolutionise reuse and circularity by 2026

As the UK Plastics Pact approaches its conclusion, the packaging industry is already preparing for its successor, the UK Packaging Pact, set to launch in April 2026. Building on the significant strides made since the original Pact's inception in 2018, this new initiative aims to further transform the packaging landscape with a stronger emphasis on circularity, focusing on scaling reuse and refill systems while reducing material use and waste.

The UK Plastics Pact, led by WRAP, has been instrumental in addressing problematic plastic packaging by eliminating 99% of targeted items and reducing the weight of household plastic packaging by 8%. Recycling rates have improved, with 55% of plastic packaging now effectively recycled, and the average recycled content has tripled since the Pact's launch, contributing to a 10.5% reduction in carbon emissions. WRAP's 2023-24 annual report highlights these achievements alongside a 14% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from removing virgin plastic. Yet, despite these advances, industry leaders acknowledge that the work is far from complete, with some 2025 targets still unmet and systemic challenges persisting.

The UK Packaging Pact is poised to build on this foundation by embracing the waste hierarchy more fully, prioritising material reduction and reuse at scale. Sebastian Munden, WRAP’s Chair, describes the original Pact’s success as "a job half finished," emphasising the need to scale reuse, reduce packaging complexity, and ensure infrastructure development keeps pace. The new Pact aims to overcome barriers by driving systemic change across all packaging materials, not just plastics, and enabling the kind of industry-wide collaboration seen as pivotal during the previous initiative.

One of the standout shifts is the economic case for reuse becoming clearer, with evidence suggesting that adopting reusable systems can reduce costs by 10-20% while slashing emissions and material use by up to 95%. Cath Conway of Go Unpackaged notes that online grocery delivery, with its return logistics already in place, is an especially cost-effective model to implement reuse. James Bull, Head of Packaging and Food Waste Strategy, echoes this financial incentive under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, pointing out that each reuse cycle can effectively reduce producers’ EPR fees, making sustainable packaging an increasingly sound business proposition.

However, transitioning to a circular packaging economy is complex, requiring more than just swapping out formats. Stuart Hayward-Higham, Chief Technical Development and Innovation Officer at SUEZ, highlights the "chicken-and-egg" dilemma in infrastructure investment, for instance, the need for wash plants to support refill systems, which themselves require sufficient volume to justify the investment. This shift also demands long-term policy stability and trust among industry stakeholders, alongside modern data collection to replace outdated assumptions on consumer behaviour and materials management.

Data transparency and uniformity are critical issues. Bull has pointed out a lack of standardisation in packaging material data, with inconsistencies in defining what materials comprise packaging across suppliers, creating confusion and inefficiency. Additionally, Paula Chin from WWF stresses the importance of supply chain transparency, revealing that 40% of packaging imported into the UK has an unknown provenance and only 13% of materials are sustainably sourced on average, as per WWF’s Basket data. This opacity hampers efforts to manage environmental impact effectively.

The new Pact also seeks to support the UK Government’s Simpler Recycling reforms by phasing out problematic plastics such as multimaterial sachets and PET trays lined with polyethene, aiming for completion by 2025. This aligns with broader moves to monomaterial packaging designs and boosts domestic processing capacity, essential for a truly circular system.

Despite the challenges, the value of collaboration has been proven. According to Munden, every pound invested in the UK Plastics Pact returned over five pounds in improvements, including significant cost savings and plastic savings. The forthcoming UK Packaging Pact will leverage this collaborative model to meet more ambitious circularity goals across all packaging.

Events like Packaging Innovations & Empack play a vital role in facilitating the conversations and partnerships necessary for this transformation. As the packaging industry moves decisively toward a circular future, the UK is in a position to set a global example of how collaboration and innovation can drive sustainable packaging systems that serve both business and environmental interests effectively.