Accelerating progress toward key plastic pollution control goals
LONDON, Nov. 2, 2022 - Companies may not meet their commitment to use "100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable" plastic packaging by 2025, according to the newly released Global Commitment to a New Plastics Economy Progress Report.
The Global Commitment's assessment of progress shows that given the massive use of flexible plastic packaging and the lack of investment in waste collection and recycling facilities, this has resulted in most signatories struggling to meet their 2025 target of ensuring that all plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable.
Ellen. The 2022 Global Commitment Progress Report, produced jointly by the MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme, highlights the following points.
The use of recycled content in plastic packaging has doubled in the past three years and continues to grow strongly.
More than half of the signatories have reduced their use of virgin plastics since 2018, but total virgin plastic use from committed signatories globally rises again in 2021, back to 2018 levels.
The share of reusable plastic packaging fell back slightly to an average of 1.2%.
Four years after launching the Global Commitment for a New Plastics Economy, the 2022 Annual Progress Report shows that practice and progress varies among signatories.
The percentage of post-consumer recycled content used in plastic packaging has increased from 4.8% in 2018 to 10.0% in 2021.
In the past, companies have worked for decades to achieve 5% use of recycled materials, and Global Commitment signatories have doubled that figure to 10% in just three years.
To achieve the overall goal of 26% by 2025, brands and retailers will have to continue to double their efforts to increase the use of recycled plastics. While some companies are already ahead of schedule, there are still some that need to step up their game.
Since 2018, more than half (59%) of brands and retailers have begun to reduce their use of virgin plastics.
However, primary plastics use rose 2.5% overall in 2021, reversing the downward trend in 2019 and 2020, due to rising demand from a segment of companies with large plastic packaging usage.
The increase in virgin plastic use is explained by the fact that the total amount of plastic packaging in some companies is still increasing. Such trends re-emphasize the need for companies to decouple their growth from their plastic packaging use.
For the first time in 2021, a handful of global brands have announced quantitative targets to increase the amount of reusable packaging they use. However, 42% of signatories have yet to introduce any reuse patterns into their packaging strategies.
Many companies have invested in efforts to achieve 100% technical recyclability of rigid plastic packaging, but such investments cannot help companies truly achieve their goal of 100% recyclability because the waste collection and sorting infrastructure is not yet in place globally.
Plastic flexible packaging (e.g. sachets and films) is a major challenge for the transformation of the plastics circular economy. Flexible packaging is also a key reason why most companies will not be able to achieve the 2025 target of "100% reusable, recyclable or compostable" plastic packaging due to the difficulties of recycling this type of packaging on a large scale in practice.
Signed brands and retailers still have the potential to make a significant and positive contribution to solving the plastic pollution crisis.
To do so, they must develop more ambitious strategies to expand reuse programs and increase innovation to maximize the elimination of the use of plastic flexible packaging and reduce disposable packaging. Recycling alone is not enough to stem the tide of plastic pollution.
Globally, there is growing support from governments for the development of a legally binding international convention to address the plastic pollution crisis. However, all countries need to accelerate the introduction of relevant policies to promote the transformation of the plastics recycling economy.
Global Commitment now has 52 signatory governments at all levels, covering a population size of 1 billion people. More than 500 companies, governments, NGOs and other relevant organizations have joined forces to work toward a common vision of a plastics recycling economy. Ellen. The MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme will continue to work together with participants to address the plastic pollution crisis.
Ellen M. McArthur Sander Defruyt, head of the MacArthur Foundation's Plastics Initiative, said, "The Global Commitment will continue to provide unprecedented transparency to guide large corporations in addressing the plastics crisis. The Global Commitment will continue to provide unprecedented transparency to guide large corporations in their response to the plastic pollution crisis," said Sander Defruyt, head of the MacArthur Foundation's Plastics Initiative. The results of our latest report also show that more needs to be done by businesses and governments.
Companies need to develop credible and ambitious plans to scale up reuse, address flexible packaging, and reduce the need for single-use packaging. Governments must also take action to help accelerate progress. At the same time, we must work together to accelerate the formation of a global treaty to combat plastic pollution. Recently, the Global Business Coalition for the Plastics Pact, co-sponsored by the Ellen. MacArthur Foundation and WWF, the Global Business Coalition for the Plastics Pact is committed to helping governments seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said. Inger Andersen, director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said: "The information made public by the Global Commitment has shown us that there are still huge gaps in the current effort. It is clear that significant challenges remain as companies strive to meet this commitment. The Global Commitment provides an important framework for this as countries negotiate an international treaty to eliminate plastic pollution.
By joining the Global Commitment and engaging early in the process, governments can identify priority areas to effectively eliminate plastic pollution and accelerate progress. We are pleased to see that since the beginning of 2022, 34 more national and local level governments from all continents have decided to join the Global Commitment."
