The UK’s new cross-material packaging initiative has taken a major step forward, with fifty-five founding organisations confirmed for the UK Packaging Pact ahead of its formal launch in April 2026.
The Pact – developed by WRAP, supported by PackUK and the UK Government – aims to accelerate system-wide change across all packaging materials and sectors, expanding far beyond the plastics-only focus of its predecessor, the UK Plastics Pact. Major retailers, FMCG brands, innovators, recyclers, and sustainability specialists are among the first wave of signatories.
Household names including ASDA, Arla, Haleon, Lidl, Ocado Retail, Tesco, and Yeo Valley have joined sustainability leaders such as GoUnpackaged and PackUK, alongside waste and resource management companies Biffa, SUEZ, and Veolia.
A broadened scope for a circular economy shift
Set to run for ten years, the UK Packaging Pact will cover all packaging types across food and drink, beauty, household, and pet care categories. Members commit to designing out waste, scaling reuse and refill, improving recyclability, and supporting the development of circular infrastructure and data systems.
WRAP CEO Catherine David said the Pact arrives at a critical moment:
“Unrecyclable black plastic is gone, recycling is rising, and unnecessary packaging is disappearing. But the scale of the challenge demands more… We must accelerate the step change to circular living, driving reuse, tackling plastic film, and enabling the impact of upcoming recycling reforms.”
With the UN’s global plastics treaty negotiations faltering, WRAP positions the UK Packaging Pact as a mechanism for coordinated national action and a model for wider international replication.
Government alignment with upcoming reforms
The government’s forthcoming packaging reforms – including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Simpler Recycling, and Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) – are set to reshape how products are packaged and managed at end-of-life. The UK Packaging Pact will work alongside these changes, acting as a test bed for implementation and a feedback loop for policymakers.
Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh welcomed the founding signatories, adding:
“Government and businesses must ensure packaging is used time and time again. Our new extended producer responsibility scheme will turbocharge this shift… I pay tribute to the 55 world-leading companies who have pledged to go further and faster in delivering greener packaging.”
PackUK CEO Jeremy Blake described the Pact as “the collaborative approach we need to drive real, lasting change”, emphasising that no single organisation can shift the system alone.
Building on the success of the Plastics Pact
The UK Plastics Pact, launched in 2018, is approaching its conclusion with a series of significant achievements despite policy delays and global disruption. Its latest progress report shows:
- 99.9% of problematic plastics eliminated, including early removal of 726 million items.
- 70% of plastic food packaging now reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
- Plastic recycling rates reaching 53%.
- Recycled content tripled from 8.5% to 28%.
The programme’s structure has since become a blueprint for 13 global Plastics Pacts across 19 countries.
The new UK Packaging Pact aims to take this model across all materials, from fibres to metals to emerging biobased formats, while addressing persistent challenges such as flexible packaging, reuse at scale, and under-investment in recycling infrastructure.
A 2035 vision for circular packaging
Looking ahead, WRAP envisions UK shelves in 2035 filled with goods in minimal, optimised, reusable or easily recyclable packaging, backed by harmonised data and end-to-end circular systems. The Pact aims to ensure every piece of packaging placed on the market can be captured, processed, and kept in circulation.
WRAP is continuing talks with further brands and manufacturers across multiple sectors ahead of the Pact’s full April 2026 launch.
A full list of the 55 founding members is available from WRAP.
