New Plastics Economy Global Commitment spring 2019 report launched

A new report published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative has shown details of how brands, government, and other organisations are tackling plastic pollution.

Major companies including Carrefour, Colgate Palmolive, Mars, Incorporated, Nestle, SC Johnson, The Coca-Cola Company, and Unilever are publicly disclosing their annual plastic packaging volumes, marking an important step towards greater transparency in today’s plastic system.

Highlights of the report included details of consumer goods companies and retailers committing to increase recycled content in their packaging to an average of 25 per cent by 2025, compared with the current global average of just two per cent.

As well as this, leading businesses and governments will end the use of problematic and unnecessary plastic, including PVC and single-use plastic straws and carrier bags, many of them by the end of this year.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has welcomed these initial efforts but has called for more action to eliminate problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging, and a greater shift to reuse delivery models that reduce the need for single-use packaging.

The report follows the launch of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment in October 2018, which established a vision to stop plastic waste and pollution at source by applying circular economy principles.

Since then, the number of signatories has risen to more than 350 are now includes Apple, Barilla, Tetra Pak, and L-Occitane, as well as the Government of Rwanda and the cities of Sao Paulo and Ljubljana.

Sander Defruyt, New Plastics Economy lead, said: “The targets and action plans set out in this report are a significant step forward compared with the pace of change of past decades.”

“However, they are still far from truly matching the scale of the problem, particularly when it comes to the elimination of unnecessary items and innovation towards reuse models.”

“Ambitions levels must continue to rise from commitment to action is crucial. Major investment, innovations, and transformation programmes need to start now.”

Lisa Svensson, Coordinator of the Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Branch of the UN, said: “UN Environment is delighted to be working with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to help turn the tide on plastic pollution.”

“Within just a few months of the launch of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, we have seen important progress. The Foundation’s work to create a circular economy for plastic aligns very well with our Clean Seas campaign, which has become the biggest global compact addressing marine plastic.”