Resources

This brochure showcases projects delivered by the Resource Action Fund (RAF) grants within the plastic policy area.

The Resource Action Fund (RAF) was an £18 million fund, provided by Defra to support resource efficiency projects, with the goal of diverting, reducing, and better managing waste. The funding supported organisations in England which aimed to reduce waste and make better use of materials.

The Resource Action Fund (RAF) was an £18 million fund, provided by Defra to support resource efficiency projects, with the goal of diverting, reducing, and better managing waste.

A high-level desk-based research study and series of stakeholder interviews has been conducted to ascertain the key non-technical challenges to the implementation of non-mechanical recycling in the UK, with particular emphasis on legislative elements. 

In February 2022 the UK Government published a Levelling Up White Paper, outlining policy interventions which aim to improve opportunity and boost livelihoods across the country as we recover from the pandemic.  At the same time, as the Government seeks to deliver its Net Zero Strategy.  The challenge is therefore how we can level up and grow our economy whilst also reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

This report summarises the methods and findings of a project to understand the impacts of enhanced material sampling on facilities that receive recyclables.

This report is the latest in our bi-annual surveys of UK households and gathers evidence on food waste attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour. It is the largest and longest running series of its kind, having been undertaken by WRAP since 2007.

The research looked at: 

• If packaging extends the shelf life of fruit and vegetables;
• If selling items loose enables households to buy an appropriate amount for their needs; and
• How people make decisions about when to throw away fruit and vegetables, and what role does a ‘Best Before’ date have on these decisions.

Plastics play an important role in our daily lives and can often play a critical role, for instance, in protecting food and preventing food waste. But we must take urgent action where the use of plastic is problematic or unnecessary, to stop the issues plastic presents to our environment.

UK Plastics Pact members account for two thirds of all consumer plastic packaging used in the UK and they are strengthening their ambition in the fight against plastic waste. Building on the eight problem plastics identified for elimination in 2019, six new plastic items and materials have been set for elimination.

Ground-breaking research into the relationship between plastic packaging and five fruit and vegetable items frequently wasted at home, as well as the impact of date labels and storage temperatures, reveals significant opportunities to reduce both food waste and plastic packaging.

This report details information gathered about single use cups and on the go fibre-composite food packaging.

The aim of this project was to gather data on the flows of single-use cups and on-the-go fibre-composite food packaging placed on market and recycled in the UK (and by nation). It also aimed to identify options for managing these items to help reduce environmental impact , and this included an assessment of potential policy measures.

Around 10 million tonnes of food waste is generated post-farm gate every year in the UK and around 70% of this comes from households. Fresh fruit and vegetables account for a third of all household food thrown away that could have been eaten (1.6 million tonnes; £3.8 billion). Almost half of the fresh fruit and vegetables are discarded due to not being eaten in time.