FPF FlexCollect celebrated as an industry-leading initiative with third award win of 2026

The Flexible Plastic Fund’s (FPF) FlexCollect project has secured its third award of 2026, winning ‘Recycler or Recovery Initiative of the Year’ at the Packaging News Sustainability & Impact Awards. 

The project has already gained recognition as ‘Sustainability Initiative of the Year’ at The Grocer Gold Awards and won the the Partnership and Collaboration Award for Sustainability Transformation at the 2026 edie awards. 

Held on 14 July 2026, the Sustainability & Impact Awards recognise organisations and projects demonstrating accountability, credibility and continuous improvement across the sustainability sector. 

The judges recognised FPF FlexCollect as a ‘gold’ benchmark of excellence and leadership, highlighting the project’s measurable impact through innovation, collaboration and circularity. 

A strong example of cross-sector collaboration 

Launched in 2022, FPF FlexCollect is the UK’s largest kerbside collection and recycling trial for flexible plastic packaging, involving over 20 partners - including Ecosurety, Suez, RECOUP, WRAP, Defra, local authorities, waste managers and 19 brands. 

Following 10 pilots across 160,000 households, the project’s final report, published in 2025, delivered robust data to inform future policy and infrastructure decisions, helping industry and government prepare for the rollout of Simpler Recycling in 2027. 

The project is a strong example of what can be achieved through cross-sector collaboration, with transparency, open data and shared learning playing a vital role in driving system-wide change. 

What’s next for the FPF? 

Building on the momentum of FlexCollect, the Flexible Plastic Fund recently launched FlexCircular, its next major initiative. FlexCircular will explore the investment, infrastructure and market conditions needed to move from collection to recycling and full-system circularity for flexible plastic packaging in the UK.

 Find out more about the FlexCircular project here.