apetito signs up to world-leading pact to tackle plastic pollution

apetito, the UK’s leading creator and supplier of meals to the health and social care sector, has today joined several of the UK’s leading brands to help tackle the growing issue of single-use plastic packaging.

The UK Plastics Pact, will aim to transform the plastic packaging system in the UK. Its purpose will be to keep plastic in the economy and out of the ocean. Launched today by sustainability experts, WRAP, the objective will see a unique mix of businesses across the plastics value chain, along with the UK government and NGOs, come together to tackle the unavoidable issue of plastic waste.

apetito, joins 41 other businesses, including major food & drink manufacturers, retailers and packaging suppliers, in pledging a commitment to the Pact. The forward-thinking group have committed to hit a series of ambitious targets by 2025:

• Eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models
• 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable
• 70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted
• 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging

Commenting on the decision to join the UK Plastics Pact, Laura Hardman, apetito’s Ethical and Sustainable Manager, said, “We are excited to be part of this collaboration of like-minded industry partners.  By coming together and taking a systemic approach, we will focus on the causes of this truly global problem and take real action to tackle plastic waste. At apetito it is our mission to make a real difference to the people we serve, the issues that matter most to them and to play our part in protecting and respecting the environment we all depend upon.”

The UK Plastics Pact is the first of its kind in the world. It will be replicated in other countries to form a powerful global movement for change as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative.

Marcus Gover, CEO of WRAP, also commented, “Together, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rethink and reshape the future of plastic so that we retain its value, and curtail the damage plastic waste wreaks on our planet. This requires a wholescale transformation of the plastics system and can only be achieved by bringing together all links in the chain under a shared commitment to act. That is what makes the UK Plastics Pact unique.  It unites everybody, business and organisation with a will to act on plastic pollution. We will never have a better time to act, and together we can.”