A total of 250 organisations have made a commitment to eradicate plastic waste and pollution at the source.

The New Plastic Economy Global Commitment, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with UN Environment, has been signed by some of the world’s largest packaging producers, brands, retailers and recyclers as well as NGOs.

They include H&M Group, L’Oréal, Mars, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company and Unilever, Amcor, Novamont and Veolia – with all the signatories representing 20% of all plastic packaging produced globally.

Businesses that sign up to the commitment will publish annual data on their progress to help drive momentum and transparency.

They will set targets that include eliminating problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and move from single-use to reusable packaging models, innovating to ensure 100% of plastic packaging can be easily and safely reused, recycled or composted by 2025 and circulating the plastic produced by increasing the amount of plastics reused or recycled and made into new packaging or products.

The Global Commitment aims to create “a new normal” for plastic packaging, with targets reviewed every 18 months and expected to become “increasingly ambitious” over the coming years.

Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment said: “Ocean plastic is one of the most visible and disturbing examples of a plastic pollution crisis.

“The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment is the most ambitious set of targets we have seen yet in the fight to beat plastics pollution. It sets out the steps businesses and governments must take if we are to find a solution to the root causes of plastic pollution and we urge all those working towards dealing with this global issue to sign it.”

The UK Government recently said it would ban single-use plastic items such as straws, stirrers and cotton buds.