The Economist - USA (2021-10-09)

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FOUNDATIONS OF EFFECTIVE PLASTICS MANAGEMENT

• Governance is strongly correlated with better plastics
  waste management.


• When it comes to systemic capacity, robust oversight of waste-
  management processes alone is insuffi cient. Countries that
  perform well here exhibit strong oversight and pair it with more
  effi cient collection and sorting channels, infrastructure to help
  recycling and investments in capacity-building.


• Stakeholder engagement requires an across-the-board approach
  that includes government, business, media and consumers.

TOWARDS A CIRCULAR PLASTICS ECONOMY

• If the circular economy is to succeed, the perception of plastic
  waste must shift from valueless to valuable.


• Recycling is not a panacea. While reusing and recycling
  are preferable to incineration or putting waste in landfi lls,

reducing our use of plastics and replacing them with

alternatives (paper, for example) where possible is essential.

• Mechanical recycling is often more expensive than landfi lling;
  many countries lack the infrastructure and/or secondary markets
  for recycled plastics; low-value items often aren’t collected;
  sorting diff erent plastic types is costly; and recycled plastic is
  often inferior to, and more expensive than, virgin materials.


• Greater use of chemical recycling could boost the circular
  economy and lower the amount of waste that is incinerated or
  sent to landfi lls. Designing plastics with chemical recycling in
  mind could result in plastics being recycled many times without a
  loss of quality.

BUSINESS AND CONSUMER ACTION REQUIRED

• More than one-quarter of consumers do not know the benefi ts
  of recycling. Much could be achieved from raising awareness.

“Thepaththeworldis onwithplasticsis plainlyunsustainable.

Alreadyplasticsleakageis doinguntolddamagetoourocean.

Thescaleofthechallengeis startling,andinurgentneedof

cohesiveandeffectivesolutionsthatcanaddressevery

elementofthecomplexlifecycleofplastics.ThePlastics

ManagementIndex,I hope,willshedlightonwhereweare

globally,andwhereweneedtobeheadedtomanageplastics

moreeffectivelyandresponsibly.”

YoheiSasakawa

Chairman,TheNipponFoundation

Source:PMI,accompanyingsurveyofbusinesses

85%

encourageemployees

tosegregateplasticwaste

fromgeneralwaste

75%

thinkthesustainableuseof

plasticsis importantorvery

importanttotheir

organisation’soverall

environmental

sustainabilityplan

68%

include responsible

production/use of plastics or

plastics waste management

as part of their CSR

programme

Businesses increasingly see the need for better plastics and waste management...

Source:PMI,accompanying survey of businesses

Reducedplasticpackaging

Sustainableproductdesign

Useofsubstitutesforplasticpackaging

38% 62%

65% 35%

69% 31%

...but many have yet to turn intentions into action

For more information,

visit backtoblueinitiative.com

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