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The packaging industry used Packagingnews.co.uk's Soap Box forum to congratulate Wrap on achieving its initial Courtauld Commitment target of reducing packaging waste growth.

Wrap has reached its goal despite a 2% growth in the grocery sector and population growth of 0.5% per annum since the organisation's inception in 2005.

Keren McCarron of the Food and Drink Federation wrote: "We think it's great news that the industry has met the Courtauld target to halt packaging growth, and that we are now on track to cut food and packaging waste by 2010.

"We have been encouraging our members to make a significant contribution to Wrap's work on reducing the level of packaging reaching households, as well as seeking to send zero of our own food and packaging waste to landfill from 2015."

Wrap has announced that it now plans to increase the Courtauld Commitment's focus on food waste and to deliver absolute reductions in packaging waste by 2010.

Industry experts told Packagingnews.co.uk's forum they think it is a good move.

"Shame the papers have picked up on the plastics bags stuff - surely this is an irrelevance? Food waste is the major problem, not packaging," said James Smith.

But other experts were more cautious about Wrap's results. Walter Lewis told www.packagingnews.co.uk: "Congratulations to Wrap - they set off to achieve a very specific outcome and have achieved it. How many of us can claim that? But then we perhaps have more considered and more rounded objectives."

You can join the debate here.