Plastics News Europe - October 2019 - 49

better recycling. We need a more fundamental change,
starting by eliminating the plastics that we don't need -
the most problematic materials, like some types of packaging - as well as reducing the need for a single-use items in
cases where re-use models make sense. Secondly we need
to innovate the plastics that we do need, making sure that
the products we put on the market are designed to be
re-usable, recyclable or compostable
Finally, we need to make sure we circulate these materials in practice so that they're all re-used, recycled or composted, so that we can keep them in our economy and out
of the environment, landfill or incinerators - where the
majority of them end up today.
The very good news is that this vision has already been
endorsed by 400 major stakeholders, including major businesses, government, NGOs and academics, who have all
gathered behind this vision of a circular economy for plastics. Beyond that, they have also committed to a complete
set of targets to help realise that vision. It's a very positive
step that we see, and we want to continue to see this
transition accelerated.
So, you do see plastics fitting into the circular
economy?
Yes. The circular economy is a vision that is material neutral
- it doesn't prefer one material over another, except of
course where materials are toxic. If I dive a little deeper
into the vision of a circular economy for plastics, there is an
important element of shifting from single-use to re-use
business models: first, wherever possible, making sure that
all plastics we put on the market are designed for re-use,
or to be recyclable or compostable and then making sure
that they are also effectively re-used, recycled or composted in practice. All this should lead to a decoupling of our
plastics system from fossil fuel feedstocks. Finally, for the
small amount of virgin plastics left that we might need, we
should shift from fossil-fuel based plastics to renewably-sourced plastics. This is the vision 400 organisations
have endorsed and are seeking to realise.

Scientists say they're 'astounded' by the acceleration in melting of
Greenland's glaciers due to climate change

vulnerable to the volatile oil prices that we've seen over
the past decade. Also, our studies on reusable packaging
models found enormous business benefits in shifting from
a single-use to a re-use model - it led to increased consumer loyalty and added extra value for the consumers, by
delivering a bit more functionality on an individual consumer basis. Finally, the plastics recycling industry obviously stands to benefit.

That was the basis of the New Plastics Economy
report you published on rethinking the future of
plastics back in 2016.
Yes, this vision has been the basis of all the work we've
done on plastics so far, starting in 2015, 2016. And last
year, with the launch of the New Plastics Commitment,
that was really a major milestone where we went beyond
having a lot of momentum from many stakeholders and
notional support for this vision to having these 400 organisations explicitly sign and endorse it. To have all these signatories align on one common vision, moving forward in
one common direction is incredibly powerful. Without
concerted action and collaboration across all stakeholders
globally such a fundamental shift will not be possible.

Even if the industry takes the measures needed to
transition to a more circular approach, what about
the greater public? How can we change ingrained
behaviours?
I fundamentally believe that the solution mainly lies in the
hands of businesses and policymakers to create a circular
system in which individuals and households can operate.
What we are talking about is a fundamental shift from
linear to circular and while individuals all have a role to
play, it is through the institutions, businesses and governments that the system will be put in place.
This Q&A will be read at the largest plastics and
rubber trade show in the world. Do you have a
message for the plastics industry?
My main message today would be that over 400 organisations signed up for the global commitment. By doing so
they stepped up as leaders in the transition to a circular
economy for plastics. Among them are major industry
players - collectively representing more than 20% of all
plastic packaging globally - and governments that have
stepped forward to sign this global commitment. They all
aligned on this one common vision of a circular economy
for plastics and committed themselves to very concrete
2025 targets to help realise that vision. So I would really
encourage all in the plastics industry to join these 400-plus
organisations on this journey because the question is not
whether a world without plastic waste is possible but the
question is what we are all going to do together to make
it happen.

How will the plastics industry benefit from the
transition?
First of all, everybody realises that the current system is
broken. It is extremely wasteful and we have many problems and many stakeholders realise that we need fundamental change at a global scale. This transition is therefore
not really not an option - also, over the past 12 to 18
months we've seen various investor reports starting to talk
explicitly about major financial risks for plastic producers,
packaging producers and brands, related to the current
public and regulatory pressure being put on plastics and
the industry to fix the current system and to transition. The
first benefit is therefore gained by addressing this enormous pressure from the public and policymakers - and
from their investors as well. On top of that, there are also
real business benefits: decoupling the plastics system from
virgin fossil fuels will make it far more resilient and less

ocTober 2019

Photo: Matthew Woodhatch Sept 2019

circular economy

Plastics News Europe - October 2019

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