CIRCLETTER ⭕ #13: Has packaging industry lied about recycling?
Harald Friedl
Circular Economist | LinkedIn Top Voice | Send me your content for sharing | Helping organisations to go 'from linear 📏 to circular ♻️'
1) What happened:
The plastic crisis has become ubiquitous - certainly since the EMF Report "The New Plastics Economy". It famously said: "Designing out plastic pollution. We must change how we design, use, and reuse plastics. We cannot simply recycle or reduce our way out of the plastic pollution crisis. If we don't act now, by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans".
This was in 2016; we have come a long way since then. Even though - progress is too slow!
A big part of the needed shift is regulation. Also - the consumer has an urgent role to play. And, companies (the big polluters) need to change their old ways. By designing out and replacing plastics, using bio-degradable materials or moving to "everything as service models", among others.
Companies also have a clear interest, to convince the public that plastics can be recycled. Maybe they have know for some time that "plastics recycling would not work as expected"? I am always interested in the complete picture:
While we hear on social media and the news on a daily basis what companies "do achieve" regarding recycling, I feel it's also important to get the whole picture. Check out relevant articles in the "curated read" below - and the report released last week by the nonprofit Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) - to stay up-to-date on this key topic: "The Fraud of Plastic Recycling: How Big Oil and the plastics industry deceived the public for decades and caused the plastic waste crisis".
2) Curated reads:
An article reflecting on the report "The Fraud of Plastic Recyling"
2. Top Packaging Trends 2024
Incoming regulations, notably the UN’s Global Plastics Treaty and the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) revision, will intensify demand for responsible waste management. The packaging industry will increasingly turn to digital tech for scalable circular economy solutions.
3. Circular Economy - 4 shifts in financial practices
To make the shift to a circular economy actionable, the authors recommend focusing on four financially-oriented components.
4. Link between circular economy and sustainable growth
Closing the loops would be critical to achieving our sustainability aspirations. We must act together now, to thrive tomorrow.
5. New EEA Report: Better links between waste management, circular economy and climate change mitigation measures can boost greenhouse gas emission reductions
Some form of circular economy policies and measures are included in 6% of the climate policies reported by European countries (with a strong focus on waste). Impacts on emission reductions that these actions would deliver are however rarely quantified.
The waste sector’s total GHG emissions in European countries have decreased by 42% since 1990 and are projected to continue declining, with an expected reduction of 68% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
6. The top innovations to watch in the resources and waste sector
The potential impact these innovations can have on the future of waste management is monumental. However, the expertise and dedication behind these innovations is hugely reliant on the funding needed to scale up, and the regulations in place to ensure they’re used safely.
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7. The Era Of Upcycling Is Upon Us
Upcycling isn’t limited just to product manufacturers. REI, the largest outdoor retailer, is also rethinking the consumption cycle.
8. Re-industrialising Europe in a green way: Industrial areas canbecome industrial hubs for the Circular Economy?
The four-year project aims to establish four industrial hubs: in the Netherlands, Turkey, the Basque Country and Germany.
9. The top innovations to watch in the resources and waste sector
The potential impact these innovations can have on the future of waste management is monumental. However, the expertise and dedication behind these innovations is hugely reliant on the funding needed to scale up, and the regulations in place to ensure they’re used safely.
10. ExxonMobil to emphasise circularity at NPE show
It's always key to keep an eye on what the oil and gas industry is doing.
3) Circular Calendar 2024
4) Infographic of the week
A new publication of the European Environment Agency summarises the challenges of linking circular economy and climate change mitigation. There are certain challenges for including circular economy actions, including those on waste management, into current IPCC-based reporting schemes
5) Video of the week - "Circulate Products and Materials"
We need to circulate everything we use – making sure everything we produce stays in the economy and never becomes waste or pollution. By doing so, we keep finite materials in the economy and out of the environment, and safely return biodegradable materials to the earth. Find out more about the second principle — circulate products and materials — in this video.
6) Feedback & circular actions
Feel free to share - and happy to hear your feedback 🙏
Want to take concrete circular actions - more at:
Engenheiro Ambiental |Sustentabilidade| ESG | Construções Sustentáveis | Perito Ambiental | Auditor Interno e Externo | Sistema de Gestão Ambiental| Licenciamento Ambiental | Consultor Ambiental e ESG , NR's, ISO 14001
5moParabéns pelo "Circletter #13"! Seu destaque à crise dos plásticos e à importância da economia circular é essencial. A crítica à reciclagem de plásticos e a necessidade de regulamentação rigorosa e ações conscientes são pontos cruciais. A referência ao relatório do CCI e a denúncia da indústria do plástico reforçam a urgência de soluções inovadoras. É inspirador ver as práticas sustentáveis evoluindo, apesar da lentidão do progresso. A curadoria de leituras e promoção de eventos importantes são recursos valiosos para todos nós. Seu trabalho realmente faz a diferença.
Interesting points—we wish companies weren't lying, but investing in chemical recycling instead.
Author | Creative Writing
5moGood to start with those who will inherit the massive problems associated with plastic pollution in our oceans. Flidgywumper Saves the Seas is a children's book that engages/entertains and educates, but most importantly inspires children AND the adults in their lives to care and act toward turning the tide of plastic pollution that worsens every day. The book is linked from www.flidgywumper.com along with a directory of organizations working to address this issue. If you know of a group not yet listed, please refer. And feel free to help us spread the word about the consequences of polluting our Seas.
Author | Creative Writing
5moEven if recycled plastic will persist in te environment. Good to start with those who will inherit the massive problems associated with plastic pollution in our oceans. Flidgywumper Saves the Seas is a children's book that engages/entertains and educates, but most importantly inspires children AND the adults in their lives to care and act toward turning the tide of plastic pollution that worsens every day. The book is linked from www.flidgywumper.com along with a directory of organizations working to address this issue. If you know of a group not yet listed, please refer. And feel free to help us spread the word about the consequences of polluting our Seas.