Overview
On July 9th, 2025, the International Communication Project (ICP) for Food Plastic Packaging hosted its second Knowledge Exchange Event, "Packaging Responsibility in the UK & Malaysia: Policy, People & Waste Management".
This digital ICP event brought together academics and practitioners working on sustainability and food packaging, with participants and speakers joining from around the world. LUMS Associate Dean Professor Maria Piacentini and Dr Alison Stowell, the two Principal Investigators, welcomed attendees. Professor Piacentini presented on the importance of partnerships and responsibility, highlighting collaborative efforts between LUMS and partner institution Sunway University to tackle plastic packaging related issues and educate future leaders. Dr Stowell shared insights into the project’s background and objectives.
The event built on collaborative UK-Malaysian research into household use and waste practices related to food plastic packaging. As Malaysia prepares to implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the UK continues to evolve its packaging regulation, the forum provided timely insights and explored new directions through sharing findings from the UK Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives (PPiPL) Project: Rethinking the Consumer Attitude Behaviour Gap and the PPiPL Malaysia Pilot.
Two keynote presentations followed. Dr Alexandra Harrington, Chair of International Union for Conservation of Nature World Commission on Environmental Law Task Force on Plastic Pollution and Lancaster University lecturer, discussed the challenges and opportunities of the Global Plastic Treaty and the negotiation process. Mr Richard Hudson, Technical Manager at the Chartered Institute of Waste Management, shared insights into UK policy development that would impact upon plastic packaging in the UK.
Project finding sessions brought together results from PPiPL UK and the Malaysia pilot project. Professor Alex Skandalis and Dr Pei Boon Ooi examined household consumption practices, outlining similarities and differences between the two countries. Dr Lai Ti Gew and Dr Lenka Brunclikova presented the post-consumption and waste management insights, highlighting opportunities for cross-country learning.
Dr Alison Stowell concluded with a discussion on future directions and emerging trends, emphasising the importance of responsibility and informed choices, the complexity of address plastic packaging sustainably, and how solutions require collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches. Both Principal Investigators stressed the importance of events like this workshop in maintaining dialogue between academia and industry on these critical topics.
