How to Make Single-Use Plastic Reusable

Seven United Nations (UN) entities have come together, supported by the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), to call for an overhaul of the current electronics system, with the aim of supporting international efforts to address e-waste challenges.  The entities called for a systematic collaboration with major brands, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the academia, trade unions, civil society and associations in a deliberative process to reorient the system, and reduce yearly waste of resources with a value greater than the gross domestic product (GDP) of most countries.

Plastics have enjoyed exceptional growth in production for decades and are used extensively across a multitude of sectors including packaging, construction, electronics, automotive and agriculture. Prompted by concerns over plastic waste generation and impacts on terrestrial and marine ecosystems, in 2018 the European Commission published a strategy on plastics which was followed by legislative actions such as ban of certain single-use plastic items. In 2019 out of about 29 million tonnes of plastic collected in the EU the majority (68%) was either incinerated for energy recovery or ended up in landfills.  There has been a debate for some time about whether the concept of chemical recycling can be among the solutions for managing plastic waste. Chemical recycling technologies have not yet reached the market at scale although recently there have been several announcements for the development of new plastic recycling plans in Europe and abroad. Objective of this event will be to bring together stakeholders from the plastics value chain to discuss whether and under what conditions chemical recycling technologiesaviercould make a contribution to the EU’s circularity and decarbonisation objectives.