Packaging recyclability
UK Pet Food and our members are active and committed to reducing the negative impacts of pet food packaging.
Packaging is critical to ensuring that pet food is kept safe and fresh. The industry primarily uses plastics and other packaging materials to protect products across the supply chain and ensure they reach the consumer in a safe and optimal condition. The packaging also provides important factual and legal information about the product inside.
As environmental concerns grow, pet food manufacturers are driving research and innovation to improve packaging circularity and strengthen sustainability efforts.
Reducing the negative impacts of packaging
As the pet food industry, we believe that ensuring a high level of pet food safety and preventing waste should be key objectives in the transition towards a circular economy and the circularity of pet food packaging.
What is Circularity?
Circularity is the highest form of recycling, where all materials in a product can be reused endlessly. As it's a closed loop, no value is lost and there is no waste.
Download our 'Circularity of pet food packaging' fact sheet to find out more:
Wet food pouches are a particular challenge for the industry
Pet food packaging has a variety of formats made from different materials and manufacturers carefully select the best option in order to ensure freshness, hygiene and safety. However, at present, wet food pouch packaging is one of the most difficult challenges from a sustainability perspective.
Pouches are made from thin layers of different materials fused together during a lamination process, but local authorities across the UK are yet have the capacity or capabilities to collect and process laminates.
However, there are initiatives underway to achieve a recyclable pouch and to improve the recycling infrastructure throughout the UK.
The UK Plastics Pact
The UK Plastics Pact, from WRAP, brings together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain under one holistic approach. Pact members will:
- Eliminate problematic plastics, reducing the amount of packaging on supermarket shelves.
- Stimulate innovation and new business models and help build a stronger recycling system in the UK.
- Ensure that plastic packaging is designed to be easily recycled and made into new products.
- With the support of the Government, ensure that consistent UK recycling is met.
The UK Plastics Pact, led by WRAP, is the first of a global network of Pacts, enabled by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy initiative.
Pact members include major retailers and processors of food and drink, as well as the FDF. As a proud supporting organisation of the Pact, UK Pet Food encourages wider member engagement in this important programme.
Read more about the responsibilities of pet food producers: