BBIA signs up as founding member of the UK plastics pact

BBIA is happy to announce itself as a founding member of the UK Plastics Pact, a new joint initiative from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

While plastics have a vital role to play in society, they are wreaking untold damage on our natural environment, which is why BBIA supports the aims and objectives of the Pact.

The UK Plastics Pact, led by WRAP, is the first of a global network of such pacts, enabled by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy initiative, and represents a bold and unique initiative that will transform the UK’s plastic system. By bringing together the entire plastics value chain behind a common set of ambitious targets, it will move us towards a system which keeps plastic in the economy and out of the environment by 2025.

It aims to achieve this by getting members to make the following commitments: Taking actions to eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use packaging items through redesign, innovation or alternative delivery models (e.g. reuse), 100 per cent of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable, 70 per cent plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted, 30 per cent average recycled content across all plastic packaging.

BBIA and its members have long been committed to advancing the bioeconomy and developing bio-based alternatives to plastics. From compostable catering produced by Vegware, which recently ranked 77th in The Sunday Times Lloyds SME Export Track 100, the list of SMEs with the fastest growing international sales of the last two years, to Woolcool’s innovative use of wool instead of plastic in thermal control packaging, BBIA members have been at the forefront of innovation in the bioeconomy.

Commenting on the announcement, BBIA Managing Director David Newman said: “We’re keen to be part of this transformation of the way in which we produce, use and dispose of plastics in the UK. Indeed, the UK has the potential to become a significant player in the new generation of compostable plastics, which can be used in food packaging and help to drive up food waste collections and recovery.

"As we strive to reduce plastics waste and increase food waste treatment, we can achieve both goals by adopting compostable plastics where perishable food packaging is needed, and get these back to composting and AD and to use on soil. We need high quality organic carbon to get back to soil in ever larger volumes to ensure long term sustainability of farming in the UK. Plastics, food, energy and soil are all interconnected themes that we want the Plastics Pact to pull together for the benefit of our environment and our economy."