Food and drink industry’s progress on cutting single-use plastic stalls

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The temporary removal of the plastic bag charge and moves away from loose fruit and veg are believed to have caused a major spike in plastic during the pandemic

The food and drink industry’s Plastic Pact has achieved only “mixed success”, with the fight to remove some common types of packaging stalling and the overall amount of material suitable for recycling improving by a negligible 1% since the flagship strategy began, a new report has revealed.

The second annual update of Wrap’s Plastic Pact shows between 2018 and the end of 2019 the industry had managed to achieve a 40% reduction in the number of plastic items sold deemed as problematic or unnecessary.

However, the report found the proportion of packaging placed on the market by Pact’s members that was recyclable had remained virtually static, at 64% compared to 63% last year – and that is only because last year’s baseline had been recalculated from the originally reported 65%.

Wrap also admitted it was likely the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which struck after the period covering the figures, would mean the industry’s fight against plastic could actually have gone backwards since the Pact launched in 2018.

The crisis is believed to have caused a major spike in plastic in the grocery industry, because of moves such as the temporary removal of the plastic bag charge, a withdrawal from loose fruit and veg and the increase in plastic bags used for the surge in online deliveries.

However, even without the impact of the virus, the report shows the industry has been struggling to meet the aims of the pact, which include eliminating all problem plastic by 2025.

Wrap CEO Marcus Glover today warned that despite some good results in reducing the number of plastic products sold, the industry needed to take “urgent action” to tackle the situation.

Plastic films used widely across the grocery industry in products such as cheese have been identified as the biggest culprit for why the industry is struggling, with this type of flexible plastic responsible for a quarter of all UK consumer packaging – of which only 6% is currently recycled, the report found.

It also revealed another “key area of concern” was the continued use of polystyrene widely used to package multipack yoghurts and other products, where the amount of plastic in production had “remained static”.

Glover added: “Developing solutions to overcome the challenges of recycling flexible plastic packaging will be a particular priority.

“Collection points for plastic bags and films at supermarkets will be an important step in the right direction, but we need all supermarkets to collect all plastic films to make this work.”

Environment minister Rebecca Pow praised the industry for its progress and defended the government’s record, saying moves such as the carrier bag tax and a ban on plastic straws showed its commitment.

She also said moves such as the rollout of a new bottle deposit return scheme (DRS) would make the UK a “world leader” in the war on plastic.

However, last week The Grocer revealed the timeframe for DRS had slipped to at least 2024 because of delays caused by the pandemic.

Nina Shrank, senior campaigner at Greenpeace, told The Grocer the industry needed to do much more to “turn off the tap” on plastic.

“It’s good to see some examples of successful plastic reduction, but we need to see a lot more ambition than this if brands and retailers are serious about solving the plastic pollution crisis.

“We also need to shift the emphasis to reuse and refill systems. We need brands and retailers to go beyond small-scale trials and be far more ambitious.”