Getting to a Circular Economy
In a new report, The Recycling Partnership explores strategies for expanding plastics recycling commitments to include all recycled materials.
In 2018, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation established the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, securing promises from over 400 major businesses—representing 20% of all plastic packaging produced globally—to work toward a circular economy in which all plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable. Given the troubling current state of global plastics pollution, the vision inscribed in the Commitment seems ambitious; but as the June 2019 report of the Commitment states, “all business and government signatories to the Global Commitment are committing to a set of ambitious 2025 targets. They will work to eliminate the plastic items we don’t need; innovate so all…