Through the new commitments initiated by the Allen MacArthur Foundation, PepsiCo, Unilever, H&M and other companies will work with the government to promote the recycling of plastics and stop their inflow into the ocean.
In the Pacific garbage belt, a huge marine clearing device is currently starting its first attempt to capture plastic waste from the ocean. This is a formidable challenge, but the systemic challenge is much greater: every minute, equivalent to another A plastic garbage truck enters the global waters. The use of plastics in the world is increasing every year.
Today, dozens of world-renowned companies are committed to creating a true circular economy for plastics. These companies produce about 20% of all plastic packaging in the world, and some of these packages eventually flow to the sea.
'We have worked with many of these companies from the start, knowing that plastic packaging that ultimately flows into nature is not appropriate.' The founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, who led this new commitment Ellen MacArthur Foundation said. 'This is not the future, not a long-term solution. The results of the industrial revolution are now seriously out of control. We need to re-set the parameters to figure out what the industry should look like.
The Foundation began researching plastic contamination four years ago and calculated the amount of recycled plastics worldwide, the amount of recycled low-quality materials, the amount of incineration or disposal to landfills, and the amount of inflows into nature. According to the data, 32 % of plastic waste will flow into nature.
'We don't know where they went.' She said, 'These plastics that flow into nature may first enter the river and other waters, and then eventually flow into the ocean.' The organization is expected to be in the ocean by 2050. Plastics may be more than fish.
With these statistics, the foundation sat down with industry leaders to discuss, they did not consider specific innovations that might be useful, but instead studied the whole issue. 'We tried to step back and say, what is the overall situation?' MacArthur Say. 'If you take a step back in the plastic packaging industry after 10 years and 20 years, what do we want it to be? What is it that is successful?'
250 companies, including Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Colgate, SC Johnson and H&M, have signed new commitments, which have a multi-step vision. These companies are committed to eliminating plastics in problematic or unnecessary situations. And in some cases turned to reusable packaging. By 2025, they plan to make all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable. Every year they publish a public report on progress.
The commitment requires the government to develop policies to ensure that 'recyclable' plastics are actually recycled and the required infrastructure is built. The companies that manufacture the packaging need to switch from raw plastics to recycled and renewable materials and use renewable energy. Production. Collection and recycling companies are also part of the alliance.
Changing everyday behavior is an important part of the challenge. Even easy-to-recycle packaging, such as soda bottles, is usually thrown into the trash. But MacArthur believes that all packaging can be recycled, so it can come in handy, so people I won't be confused about what's in the recycling bin. 'The place we're trying to turn is a systemic change to make all the plastics worthwhile,' she said. 'So every piece of plastic that goes into your home can go directly into the recycling bin. ', because it has value. It greatly simplifies the system, which conveys a clearer message to the consumer.'
According to Fisk Johnson, SC Johnson's chief executive, as the use of plastics decreases, the industry must design products that appeal to consumers. The company has tested new products that sell bottled water, and customers can Using Windex bottle with water, this is a way to reduce the total amount of bottled water, but customers prefer to buy new bottled water. Major brands must also meet the challenge when adopting new materials. He said that Windex bottles have been 100% Made from recycled plastics after consumption, but it is difficult to use recycled materials in the packaging of other products using other types of plastics. They must also work with major cities to push up the bleak recovery rate. In Indonesia, SC Johnson is opening Eight new recycling centers and plastic banking organizations will pay local waste collectors the cost of clearing beaches and waterways and recycling plastics to new packaging.
Johnson said that companies need to make these changes, 'If you look at our company and everything we do, the amount of plastic that goes into the waste stream, whether it's in landfills or elsewhere, I think this is our biggest The environmental problem, solving it is crucial.'
For businesses and governments, the problem of solving plastic waste is not new. But MacArthur believes that the difference now is that they are cooperating in a more cohesive way. 'These companies are sitting in the same room, some of the biggest in the industry. Competitors say, 'Which area should we innovate and change the system?'' She said. 'Even some of the world's biggest brands can't solve this problem on their own. You can't solve systemic changes by yourself, you need to go Change the whole system. '