rethinking plastics in a circular economy
Ciprian Cimpan et al, Keep circularity meaningful, inclusive and practical: A view into the plastics value chain, Waste Management (2023). And while its intended useful life is typically less than a year, the material lives on for centuries. This article has been reviewed according to ScienceX's editorial process Achieving higher circularity of packaging materials, components, and products is now a significant trajectory taken by politicians and businesses to curb the negative environmental impacts caused by packaging life cycles. Therefore, in a next step, TNO and Fraunhofer UMSICHT are building a hands-on platform for plastics in a circular economy: European Circular Plastics Platform CPP," explains Esther van den Beuken, Principal Consultant from TNO. "It is high time to implement the circular economy principles in the plastic sector. For more information from IUCN on the plastics treaty process, please see: governments and business leaders to rethink the plastics value chain, including strengthening recycling. They can be shaped to almost any task, from wispy films to squishy children's toys and hard-core components. Rethinking plastics in a circular economy. Exploring innovative solutions to product design, packaging, business models, supply chains and advanced recycling technologies. The issue of how the world can shift towards a circular economy is back in the spotlight again with the second round of negotiations in Paris on a global agreement to beat plastic pollution, which . Today, almost a third of all plastic packaging leaks, with about 8 million metric tons annually polluting oceans. PDF Rethinking plastics in a circular economy - EASAC Read the report Sustainability in the plastics supply chain. For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines). In particular, it could drastically reduce negative externalitiesvalued . Developed in the framework of Plastics Europes Voluntary Commitment Plastics 2030, this report provides a European overview of plastics production, conversion into parts and products, waste collection and treatment, including recycling. Tune in as we unpack the technological and business innovations, policy solutions, and challenges associated with making plastics, food, fashion and cities more circular. In this report, Economist Impact examines the distinguishing characteristics of a range of plastic recycling technologies and presents the results of an in-depth assessment informed by an advisory board and desk research. It also addresses the production of recycled plastics and their use in different sector applications in Europe. According to the researchers, the decision for the strategies in the other fields (R strategies) requires a complex process: Usually, more than one R-strategy can be considered for a given product or service. The white paper gives answers to the question how a future-proof, circular and sustainable plastics economy looks like. 0.91 MB], White-Paper-Release-of-Microplastics-into-the-Marine-Environment-2021.pdf [PDF Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2018. New partnerships scale solutions to the climate crisis, Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2021. Featuring: Claudia Amos, technical director for plastics technology, infrastructure & commercial due diligence at Anthesis; Sander Defruyt, lead of the New Plastics Economy initiative at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation; Maarten Dubois, project lead for circular economy and plastics at the OECD; Louise Scott, vice president of R&D capability at Natura & Co and chief scientific officer at Avon Cosmetics; and Alan VanderMolen, chief communications officer at SC Johnson. Plastics are the workhorse material of the modern economy. Rethinking plastics in a circular economy - World Ocean Initiative The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics Researchers from TNO and Fraunhofer UMSICHT have elaborated a white paper that provides a basis for the transformation of plastics production and use. The Group of Seven (G7) summit was the first in a series of important multilateral milestones in the diplomatic calendar for 2023. Read the report The Circular Economy for Plastics A European Overview. Case study: Digital ledgers champion circular behaviors - EY Decouple plastics from fossil feedstocks byin addition to reducing cycle losses and dematerializingexploring and adopting renewably sourced feedstocks. 2. It also addresses the production of recyclates and their use in different applications. Amcor, Delterra, Mars and P&G Form Strategic Partnership More than 1,000 delegates from governments, NGOs, industry, and civil society will discuss with the aim to conclude by the end of 2024 a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. Please, allow us to send you push notifications with new Alerts. Bridget Croke is a managing director at Closed Loop Partners, an investment and innovation firm working to accelerate a more circular economy. "These initiatives drive excitement among our students -- high school, undergraduate and graduate and our postdocs," she said. This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. The adoption of a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution is a key priority of the EUsCircular Economy Action Planunder theEuropean Green Deal. In cases where Member States have initiated new laws on packaging waste, and where the business community is committing to ambitious targets to increase the circularity of their products a meaningful, inclusive and practical circularity that promotes sustainability is crucial.>, More information: Unfortunately for the long-term, they are also nearly indestructible. Technologies that could transform how industries use energy, Visit our Resource-Productive Operations page, Sustainability & Resource Productivity Practice, The new plastics economy: Rethinking the future of plastics. Reading time: 5 min. Plastics in a Circular Economy | Ellen MacArthur Foundation Before end of their life-cycle, plastics are a mark of human ingenuity, post their useful time, they become symbol of societal incapability. Original written by Beth Miller. Less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled at all and less than 1% will be recycled more than once. That is why we are making a plea for meaningful circularity goals, to avoid that business or policy decisions involuntarily contribute to cementing policy and infrastructure that do not contribute to true sustainability," they conclude. "We have to develop a new, sustainable way of designing and using plastics.". technology (Tech Xplore) and medical research (Medical Xpress), In a new paper published today in Waste Management journal, four scientists from Brunel University London, Politecnico di Milano, University of Southern Denmark and Wageningen University & Research remind us that circularity is not necessarily synonymous with sustainability. For example, reusable packaging must be designed to avoid the release of microplastics . Today's technological advances offer the prospect of preventing plastic waste from entering the ocean. Regulation of plastic pollution has shifted gradually from early bans of plastic bags and regulation of general waste handling toward facilitating the transition toward a circular economy. All rights reserved, Closing the loop for the climate: Harnessing the circular economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Sign up to the free World Ocean Initiative newsletter, Receive a monthly round-up of articles, videos, infographics and other content from the World Ocean Initiative. G7 summit: 3 key takeaways for net zero action, nature and the circular Between 2019 and 2022, the project 'Rethinking Plastics - Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter' worked on solutions together with seven countries in East and South East Asia. A more accurate perspective, in Ryan's view, is to see the plastics problem as related to the climate change problem without allowing it to be a distraction. efforts to address a worldwide crisis of plastic waste. Speaking on Tuesday evening when he addressed the third Kenya . "You do associate things with plastics waste -- and that is a convenient truth. It provides a European overview of 2020 plastics production, conversion, consumption and waste flows. RT @NLinKenya: Today's dialogue centers around rethinking design and solutions to plastic pollution in textile, packaging, and beyond. Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2021. The answer is a balance ranging from plastics reduction to a sustainable use of recyclable plastics. Adoption of circular economy will create jobs, keep environment clean C ollect raw materials, manufacture them into a product, sell the finished good and discard it after a single use. We are a catalyst of change both within the plastics industry, and together with all our value chain partners. Redesigning materials, formats, and systems; developing new technologies; and evolving global value chains requires a new approach to achieve a systemic shift toward the New Plastics Economy. By Narrowing the Loop, the researchers recommend, as a first step, to reduce the amount of materials mobilized in a circular economy. I have known them since they were Ph.D. With four strategic approaches, researchers from the German institute Fraunhofer UMSICHT and the Dutch institute TNO now provide insights into how this future scenario could look like in their recently published white paper "From #plasticfree to future-proof plastics". The New Plastics Economy Rethinking the future of plastics . Rethinking plastics recycling: towards a circular economy. "Climate change is an inconvenient truth and an invisible truth," he said. US$ 40 billion. Summary: In a new issue of Science, devoted to the plastics problem, call for new approaches to plastics design, production and use, with the . ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM MCKINSEY & COMPANY. These monomers are linked by chemical bonds to become polymers, which can be used in the formation of plastics to be crafted into various forms for many different uses. According to @UNEP, plastic pollution could be reduced by 80 per cent by 2040 using existing technologies, resulting in economic (over $4.5 trillion by 2040), environmental and social benefits. The newly released report is a contribution towards a better understanding of the circular economy of plastics in the EU27 + Norway, Switzerland and The United Kingdom. "If these facilities were designed to recycle or upcycle PDK and related plastics, then we would be able to more effectively divert plastic from landfills and the oceans. economy. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.). Turning off the Tap. Therefore, striving to achieve circularity will not always guarantee a sustainable outcome. However, this model is quickly being tossed out for a new system the circular economy. 0.39 MB], Reusable plastic crates or single-use carboard boxes [PDF University of Delaware. Commissioner Sinkeviius will represent the Commission at the high-level meeting organised by the United Nations. The covid-19 pandemic starkly revealed peoples dependency on plastic as well as the ongoing failure of Extended Producer Responsibility. Mechanical recycling remains the first port of call for the plastics recycling industry and is expected to co-exist and be complementary with advanced recycling approaches. Today, the coalition has released its Ministerial Statement, calling for several legally binding core obligations in the new treaty. In this programme, Economist Impact aims to lead a nuanced conversation on plastic recycling, assessing the current state and future promise of advanced recycling technologies. We must change how we design, use, and reuse plastics. Circular Economy of Plastics: Wishful Thinking or A Way Forward? - Springer How to stop plastics from finding their way into the ocean? Rethinking plastics in a circular economy Phys.org is a leading web-based science, research and technology news service which covers a full range of topics. We develop and promote the idea of a circular economy, and work with business, academia, policymakers, and institutions to mobilise systems solutions at scale, globally. Traveling in Europe has highlighted the stark contrast in the usage of single-use plastics, such as drinking straws and cutlery in comparison to the U.S. Across the U.S., cities and municipalities within a single state may do things differently.". In China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam the project focused on the transition to a circular economy through plastic waste prevention and management. Science X Daily and the Weekly Email Newsletter are free features that allow you to receive your favorite sci-tech news updates in your email inbox, Phys.org 2003 - 2023 powered by Science X Network. Creating a circular economy of plastics is an ongoing battle against chaos and dysfunction of our modern-day lifestyle. As such, in 2022, SIDS supported the UNEA 5.2 Resolution 5/14 to end plastic pollution and work towards an international legally binding instrument that will focus on reducing plastic production, phasing out single use plastics, and transitioning to a circular economy. Korley said she sees growing passion for this daunting challenge. Food designs that encourage regenerative food production and the business solutions aimed at reducing food loss and waste, Episode 3: Circular Fashion Rethinking Plastics - Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter Date 16 Feb 2021 News type Announcement Sector Awareness raising, Circular design, Packaging, Personal and household goods, Plastics, Polymers and Rubber Scope International, EU Key Area Production, Consumption, Waste management Country Germany DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2023.04.049, Provided by Each component can complicate recycling efforts or make recycling impossible, which is why recyclers will accept some kinds of plastic and refuse others. On Monday, the second high-level round of negotiations on the way to achieving a global treaty against plastic pollution starts in Paris. Rethinking Plastics - Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter. Researchers use catalysis and enzymes to reconstitute some kinds of plastic, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polystyrene/Styrofoam, the kinds of plastics used in milk jugs, shampoo bottles, sandwich bags, coffee cups, grocery bags and food packaging. The ultimate goal: Designing, adopting and ensuring a "circular" lifecycle for plastics that leads not to a landfill or an ocean or a roadside, but to a long life of near-infinite use and reuse of the valuable resources and applications they represent. A blessing and a curse: While we appreciate the multitude of applications and long lifespan that plastics delivers, it is precisely these properties that prove challenging when recycling. Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. Small Island Developing States call for ambitious Global Plastics With innovation and collaboration as pillars of the new centers they co-direct -- Korley's U.S. Department of Energy-backed CPI and Epps' NSF-backed CHARM and GCR, Korley and Epps, the Allan and Myra Ferguson Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, are at the forefront of efforts to extend the life of petroleum- and bio-derived plastics and/or put them on a circular path that continues from production to first use to reconstitution to forever. 1.32 MB], Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy, Admission to the German Press Distribution List, A balance ranging from plastics reduction to a sustainable use of recyclable plastics. Plastics are important materials for our economy and daily lives. 31 May 2023 10:05:03 by However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. The three key takeaways focused on the phasing out of fossil fuels, boosting renewable energy production and ending plastic pollution. For most questions+or scores are given, which are listed in the right panel. An ever-growing waste stream clogs our landfills, pollutes our waterways and poses an urgent crisis for our planet. PDF Industry Agenda The New Plastics Economy Rethinking the future of plastics The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics 3 Contents 3 Preface 4 Foreword 5 In Support of the New Plastics Economy 5 Project MainStream . We foster a global conversation on how to make it a reality. Rethinking plastics | UDaily - University of Delaware "From a scientific and societal point of view, we can therefore neither continue to use plastics as we did in the past nor can we do without them," explains Manfred Renner, Head of Institute Fraunhofer UMSICHT. We are determined to keep working for ambitious action across the world, as the fight against the pollution, climate and biodiversity crises must involve all of us. "For all of these issues where science and engineering and society intersect, the answer is always: It's complicated.". Re-thinking plastics in a sustainable circular economy - Syke The production and use of plastics cause environmental pollution and microplastics, deplete fossil resources and lead to import dependencies.