SUSTAINABILITY

Plastic. In early November, 250 companies and NGOs signed the “Global Commitment to the New Plastics Economy” to end pollution caused by plastic products. The agreement took place during the international “Our Ocean” conference in Indonesia and was signed by several of the world’s largest plastics manufacturers, including Coca Cola, Pepsi, Danone, H&M, L’Oréal, Mars, along with retailers, recycling centers, governments, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The initiative seeks to change the production model of these goods, and apply a waste management scheme that encourages reuse and eliminates the use of unnecessary packaging.

The actors involved want all the plastic used globally to be reused, eliminating all the disposable material after a single use. To achieve this goal, they propose to recycle all plastic products easily and safely by 2025 – transforming them into new packaging that can be reused. The plan is led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and also seeks to free these containers from hazardous chemicals that could affect the health of those involved.

Today, plastic is almost entirely derived from oil, natural gas or coal. 60% ends up being dumped in landfills or directly into the environment. Estimates indicate that, if this continues, plastic production would demand 20% of fossil fuels worldwide by 2050. Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Organization (UN), believes that the goals set out in this program are among the most ambitious seen so far and urges all actors involved to work on this global problem to overcome this form of pollution.

Next steps

The diversity of participating institutions will require an agreement to guarantee the implementation of policies and conditions that help sustain the objectives originally proposed. Public-private partnerships will emerge in the process, giving impetus to governments to set a regulatory framework allowing private companies to gradually reach goals in this area.