Valuable new research into reuse and refill has been published by mobile refill service providers TOPUP TRUCK and the University of the Arts London (UAL), following a research and development project funded by UK Research & Innovation’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge.
Sustainable online grocer Abel & Cole has won the ‘Green Initiative of the Year Award’ at the Retail Week Awards 2025 recently for its Club Zero Milk refillable milk service, an innovation breakthrough part funded by UKRI’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK.
UK Research & Innovation’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK, has revealed that its work has boosted UK plastics recycling infrastructure and enabled potential CO2e savings of more than 1.5 million tonnes between 2025 and 2030 as its funded projects come online and reach commercial scale operation.
Following successful in-store and online trials, the Refill Coalition has proved the viability of its refill and reuse solutions and is now planning to share the extensive learnings with industry through an Industry Webinar and White Paper with accompanying independent LifeCycle Assessment (LCA) to be published in May.
UK Research & Innovation’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK, will be at the Packaging Innovations 2025 next month (Stand L50, Feb 12 & 13, Birmingham NEC) and members of the SSPP team and Innovate UK Business Connect colleagues working in sustainable polymers will be on the stand.
Plastic pollution is a global issue, and data gathered through remote sensing has an increasingly important role to play in identifying and monitoring fugitive plastics in terrestrial and marine environments.
Two projects funded by UKRI’s Smart Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK, have scooped prizes recognising their efforts in developing scalable reuse and refill solutions that work for the whole supply chain.
Innovate UK were partners of the 3-day Blue Earth Summit on the 16 -18th October. The UK Circular Plastics Network (UKCPN) funded the partnership, recognising the relevance of the summit to Innovate UK’s commitment to research and innovation in support of Net Zero and Sustainability.
Ocado Retail Ltd has announced an extension to its Reuse range, aimed at reducing the use of single-use plastic on everyday items whilst providing the same quality and value.
Climate action NGO WRAP has announced that they are providing Godrej Consumer Products Limited, Huhtamaki India, and PepsiCo India a platform through the Pact initiative to lead five innovative projects focused on demonstrating recyclable solutions for flexible packaging.
