Environment

Packaging, the quality of recyclate and food waste are key areas in the Waste & Resources Action Programme's (Wrap) plans to cut the amount of waste sent to landfill by eight million tonnes within three years.

Wrap's business plan for 2008-2011, published today (11 June), also sets a target to save five million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, and to realise £1.1bn of economic benefits.

The organisation, which suffered a 30% cut in funding this year from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said it would launch a new campaign to promote the recycling of plastic bottles.

It will also work with retailers and brand owners that have signed up to the Courtauld Commitment, the voluntary agreement to reduce packaging, to help them promote recycling through their communications.

The recycling of mixed plastics will be another key area, as the public think there has been "little progress" so far.

Wrap said it would "stimulate innovative technical solutions to the challenges of collecting, sorting and using these materials in a resource-efficient way".

Wrap has allocated £6.8m of funding to its retail programme in each of the 2008/9, 2009/10 and 2010/11 financial years.

Chief executive Liz Goodwin said Wrap had set itself "an incredibly tough challenge, but one which we believe we are equal to meeting".

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