Transitioning to a circular economy for plastics and packaging

Aisha Stenning, Business Action Lead, Plastics, at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, discusses the challenge of moving plastics and packaging from a linear economy to a circular one.

Traditionally a major component of the linear economy, plastics and packaging have mainly been single-use, short-lived and had very low recycling rates for many years. Attitudes, policy, and initiatives surrounding plastic waste are now rapidly changing, but the problem still continues to escalate and requires immediate action to make it a priority in the circular economy.

Eliminating plastic pollution and waste is a key mission of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation – a registered charity working to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Foundation’s Plastics mission is focused on tackling the barriers to circular economy implementation at scale. The mission prioritises three systemic barriers:

• Scaling reuse;
• Addressing flexible plastic waste; and
• Developing collection and recycling infrastructure.

The Foundation works with businesses, governments, waste pickers, philanthropy, NGOs, and academia on solutions for these barriers.

To learn more about the challenge of transitioning plastic and packaging waste to a circular economy and how the Foundation is supporting this, The Innovation Platform spoke to Aisha Stenning, Business Action Lead, Plastics, at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

How important is it to tackle the challenge of plastic and packaging waste on the journey towards a circular economy?

Plastic and packaging represent a highly tangible challenge. An iconic example of the linear economy – fossil-based, single-use, short-lived, with very low recycling rates and high rates of mismanaged waste and pollution – with very real solutions that have seen huge progress in the last ten years. Yet, despite momentum, the problem is still getting worse, making it a priority in the circular economy transition.

How is the Ellen MacArthur Foundation targeting plastics and packaging pollution and waste?

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has rallied leading businesses behind an evidence-based, practical 2030 agenda built on ten years of active progress. A group of leading companies, representing about 20% of the plastic packaging market, signed up to the Global Commitment and have successfully made progress on eliminating problematic items, increasing recyclability, and reducing their use of virgin plastics. They have shown that progress towards a circular economy is possible. But systemic barriers stand in the way of accelerated progress. Recognising that government policy is essential, businesses can co-shape the future by moving beyond individual business change to focus on transforming the market as a whole. The 2030 agenda has three pillars:

• Policy engagement: How can businesses come together to proactively call for ambitious, effective, and harmonised regulation? Both to get the 80% not yet moving to step up, and to support the leaders in their ambitions.
• Collaborative action: Explore new ways of working together between peers and value chain partners on R&D, infrastructure, and other topics, to lower the cost and risk of the transition.
• Individual action: How can businesses, on elements within their footprints that they do control, continue to drive progress on those areas in an aligned way?

What are the main barriers preventing a circular economy for plastics and packaging?

Policy gaps and current economics prevent the scaled circular economy implementation necessary to eliminate plastic waste and pollution. Despite pioneering companies driving progress, 80% of the market is not taking the same action. Even the most ambitious companies are facing barriers they cannot tackle alone in scaling reuse, addressing flexible plastic waste, and developing collection and recycling infrastructure.

Many studies suggest reusable packaging has the potential to be one of the biggest drivers to reduce plastic pollution, but it is notoriously difficult to scale. Flexible plastic waste is the fastest growing plastic packaging type, but one of the least recycled and most mismanaged.

Whilst it’s critical to reduce the amount of plastic packaging waste that is generated in the first place (only 15% is recycled and 40% is mismanaged globally), implementing collection and recycling infrastructure requires a multistakeholder strategy and billions of dollars to be unlocked.

How do you support other organisations to find solutions to these barriers?

We will continue to publish evidence and inform policymakers, while we support increasingly ambitious collaborative action with our business network and transparently report on progress. For example, on 1 July, we announced a pioneering project with the Brazilian city of Recife, with support from Clean Rivers. The project aims to transform waste management in the city in a systemic way, making it more effective and benefiting cooperatives and waste pickers, businesses, citizens, and the environment. The project is the practical demonstration of a vision for how waste management could function efficiently and equitably in Brazilian cities by 2040. We developed this project by convening over 80 leading organisations across Brazil’s plastics and packaging value chain, including businesses from our global network – brands like Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever – alongside the wider value chain, waste pickers, and broader civil society, philanthropic, private and development capital providers, including the IFC and Circulate Capital, and technical experts from Systemiq and Delterra, among others.

Do you think there needs to be further change in terms of policy to support a circular economy for packaging and plastics?

A Global Plastics Treaty is our greatest opportunity to dramatically accelerate solutions that work, at scale, and move towards a circular economy. From redesigning products and materials to expanding reuse models to improving systems and infrastructure, a treaty with binding global rules will drive investment into impactful solutions with significant economic and social benefits.

To be effectively implemented, it must also include financial support for countries that need it, mobilise public and private finance, and ensure a fair and inclusive transition for people impacted.

The scale of the challenge is enormous, and no country or business can solve this in isolation. Our work in plastics has highlighted that the path to ending plastic pollution requires robust policy action in unison with ambitious voluntary action.

We need a global solution to this challenge, and a treaty would mark a significant step in building a strong foundation for global policy to tackle plastic pollution.

Please note, this article will also appear in the 27th edition of our quarterly publication.