Campaign aims to clear up confusion around plastic waste

WRAP, which leads The UK Plastics Pact, has launched a new citizen awareness campaign on plastics packaging.

‘Clear on Plastics’ has been designed to give citizens clear information about the complex world of plastics and the environment, helping them to make their own informed choices.

For example, it explains the role of plastic packaging in protecting the products we buy, and demonstrates the balance between the benefits and drawbacks of alternatives.

It also give tips and advice on how citizens can reduce their use of plastic at home.

The UK Plastics Pact is a collaborative initiative that aims to create a circular economy for plastics. It brings together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain with UK governments and NGOs to tackle the problem.

Peter Maddox, director of WRAP UK, said: ‘When we set up The UK Plastics Pact we committed to uniting an entire supply chain with a common goal to keeping plastics in the economy and out of the environment.

‘We also committed to engaging with citizens, who are concerned about the environment and want to understand how they can play their part. But we know that navigating the issues around this complex material can be tricky.

‘We’ve listened to the most common areas for confusion and have designed Clear on Plastics to address those, so that citizens are empowered to make their own informed decisions when it comes to plastics.’

In related news, a petition signed by over 300,000 people which demands tougher government action on plastic pollution was handed into 10 Downing Street last week (February 26), by Friends of the Earth and the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI).

The petition, which calls on ministers to introduce a plan to phase out non-essential single-use plastic, coincides with the second reading of the government’s flagship Environment Bill, when MPs will debate its contents for the first time.