Waste & Resources Action Programme

WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a registered charity. It works with businesses, individuals and communities to achieve a circular economy [1] through helping them reduce waste, develop sustainable products and use resources in an efficient way.

WRAP was established in 2000 as a company limited by guarantee.[2] and receives funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Northern Ireland Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, the Welsh Government and the European Union.

WRAP developed the "Recycle Now",[3] "Love Food, Hate Waste" and "Love your Clothes" initiatives.[4][5] These aim to help businesses, local authorities, community groups and individuals recycle and reuse more, and reduce food waste.

Over recent years it has also brokered a number of voluntary agreements with business including:

  • The construction sector – with more than 700 companies succeeding in halving their waste to landfill by 2012[6]
  • The retail sector – through the Courtauld Commitment, now (2015) in its third phase, food and drink organisations are working together to reduce food, packaging and supply chain waste. Signatories to the Courtauld Commitment include industry leaders such as Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and big brands such as Unilever and Nestlé. The European Union praised phase one as an example of best practice.[7] The phase three targets are:
    • Reduce household food and drink waste by 5% – this represents a 9% reduction in real terms to counter the expected increase in food purchased.
    • Reduce traditional grocery ingredient, product and packaging waste in the grocery supply chain by 3% – signatories will have to make an 8% reduction in real terms to counter the expected increase in production and sales.
    • Improve packaging design through the supply chain to maximise recycled content as appropriate, improve recyclability and deliver product protection to reduce food waste, while ensuring there is no increase in the carbon impact of packaging – signatories will have to make a 3% reduction in real terms to counter the expected sales increase.[8]
  • The clothing industry – through the 'Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP)', working together to reduce the clothing industry footprint through sustainable design, reuse and recycling.

These commitments fall within WRAP's four main business areas: Food and drink waste reduction, Sustainable electricals, Sustainable textiles and Resource management.

WRAP is extending its work internationally, having recently worked in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to develop a global food waste guidance tool as part of the UNEP Think.Eat.Save. initiative.

See also

References

  1. ↑ WRAP and the circular economy, http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/wrap-and-circular-economy accessed 23 September 2015
  2. ↑ "Company structure and governance | WRAP UK". Wrap.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  3. ↑ "where and how to recycle - Official UK recycling campaign". Recycle Now. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  4. ↑ "Stop Food Waste, Find Recipes, Save Money". Love Food Hate Waste. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  5. ↑ http://loveyourclothes.org.uk/
  6. ↑ "Halving waste to landfill | WRAP UK". Wrap.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  7. ↑ EU, Waste Prevention Best Practice Worksheets http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/prevention/pdf/Courtauld_Commitment_Factsheet.pdf accessed 23 September 2015
  8. ↑ New phase of Courtauld Commitment targets a further 1.1 million tonnes waste reduction http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/new-phase-courtauld-commitment-targets-further-11-million-tonnes-waste-reduction%20 accessed 23 September 2015

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