{"id":110445,"date":"2026-08-25T07:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T07:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/110445\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T07:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T07:39:12","slug":"why-investment-is-key-to-growing-the-uk-circular-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/110445\/","title":{"rendered":"Why investment is key to growing the UK circular economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keith James, Head of Public Sector Partnerships at the Waste and Resources Action Programme<\/a> (WRAP), discusses how investment, public procurement and collective action can accelerate the UK circular economy and unlock new opportunities for sustainable growth.<\/p>\n

When we talk about the circular economy<\/a>, we tend to immediately think about what the barriers might be. However, circularity is a huge part of the economy already. It\u2019s just that it\u2019s invisible because it\u2019s not necessarily a traditional sector and it doesn\u2019t have a unified voice.<\/p>\n

The UK circular economy is already bigger than we think<\/p>\n

If you look at what\u2019s happening in the repair, reuse, recycling, and rental spaces across the UK, it\u2019s huge. The circular economy movement employs over 500,000 people and adds over \u00a340bn per year to the economy.<\/p>\n

The sector is comparable in size to the hospitality or automotive sectors, but it\u2019s distributed. It is made up of both large and small companies, including those that are dedicated to the circular economy and bigger companies that have some circular practices. It is all around us, but we need to reframe our thinking around it. Rather than seeing it is a barrier to growth, it should be seen as an investment opportunity.<\/p>\n

Why circular economy investment could unlock faster growth<\/p>\n

The question is: how can we help the circular economy to grow more rapidly? Finding investment across a range of business opportunities and making sure that they\u2019ve got access to the relevant markets \u2013 through public procurement, for example \u2013 are two key opportunities that could really help the circular economy grow faster and further.<\/p>\n

WRAP is a global environmental action NGO with a mission to transform our broken product and food systems to create Circular Living for the benefit of climate, nature, and people. With a mixed model approach, WRAP targets systematic problems and aims to transform whole systems to support the circular economy to grow.<\/p>\n

How public-private partnerships can accelerate circularity<\/p>\n

One of the main ways WRAP drives change is through public-private partnerships \u2013 our Pacts. Initially launched in the UK, we are now working with international partners to deliver these pacts on a global scale.<\/p>\n

The UK Food and Drink Pact<\/a>, which focuses on the food system, aims to halve food waste, halve greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure that half of our food comes from sustainably-sourced locations in terms of water. Its mission is to bring businesses together to take collective responsibility, as well as working with policymakers to ensure that the public and private sectors are both playing their part to create that change.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re doing something similar with our Textiles Pact<\/a>, again trying to make sure that we\u2019re tackling the right challenges. For example, we\u2019re working on reducing waste in textiles, but we\u2019re also focusing on the durability of clothing. It\u2019s about finding the right issue for the right product group and then working on collective action.<\/p>\n

Using consumer insights to build a more circular economy<\/p>\n

Another priority for WRAP is citizen engagement and insights. We run campaigns, such as Love Food Hate Waste, to help people reduce the amount of food they waste and recycle more. It encourages people to have more confidence to recycle at home.<\/p>\n

There are also the citizen insights that we can then share with governments and businesses. For example, we know that the people who own the most clothing actually don\u2019t want to own the most clothing. They want to socialise, look good, and look up to date, but they don\u2019t want an overflowing wardrobe.<\/p>\n

For businesses, having these kinds of insights about their customers can be really powerful. With companies like Vinted really having grown in the UK recently, it\u2019s clear that circular economy is popular with the general public.<\/p>\n

From food and textiles to packaging: Tackling circularity sector by sector<\/p>\n

In terms of our main activities recently, we\u2019ve been working on a net-zero transition plan for the waste and resources sector. We have tried to convene the entire waste sector together to identify the actions they need to take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

The important thing about that plan is that it\u2019s owned by the sector, but we\u2019re also in discussion with government about it. We need all parties to understand that we\u2019re willing to take action. That action depends on others taking action as well. For example, government needs to understand the sector\u2019s commitments because they rely on policy support or policy change.<\/p>\n

Another development is the launch of our new UK Packaging Pact<\/a>. Building on the success of the UK Plastics Pact<\/a>, this is our next chapter in delivering system-wide change. The pact is designed to help businesses overcome complex packaging challenges, reduce costs, shape and implement policy, and accelerate circular packaging at scale.<\/p>\n

Why public procurement can drive the circular economy<\/p>\n

When it comes to driving change, no one business or government can accelerate the circular economy on its own. Everyone\u2019s got a role to play. Government has a huge opportunity in terms of public procurement. That could be a real driver for the circular economy.<\/p>\n

Having an open mind and thinking about things like government buying standards is a real opportunity. Governments also need to create the conditions for investment to flow. They don\u2019t necessarily need to provide the investment, but they need to give investors confidence in the long term. That would equally apply to large infrastructure as well as startups.<\/p>\n

What can consumers do to support the circular economy?<\/p>\n

In terms of our personal contribution, there are things that we can all do to contribute to a circular economy.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not asking for everybody to adopt exactly the same practices. We\u2019re also not saying that people should stop buying new things, but instead think about passing it on for a second or third life when you no longer need or want the item.<\/p>\n

If it breaks, maybe get it repaired or explore other options. We need to think through that relationship with products. The beauty of the circular economy is that it\u2019s not one single solution, it\u2019s a menu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keith James, Head of Public Sector Partnerships at the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), discusses how investment,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[686,33279,28163,721,5,6],"class_list":["post-110445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-circular-economy","tag-plastic-waste","tag-recycling","tag-sustainability","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117155015540865769","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}