Welcome to Higginson Strategy’s weekly round-up of international news relating to plastic pollution.
This week, research has found Europe’s supermarkets are packed with brands claiming their plastic packaging as sustainable, despite only a fraction of the materials are truly recovered from waste, with the rest made from petroleum. A Lancet Planetary Health study has highlighted the extensive health harms associated with plastics are projected to more than double by 2040. Closed Loop Partners and the Consumer Brands Association are among the founding members of the Recycling Leadership Council (RLC), which aims to ‘modernize’ the American recycling system. The Consumer Goods Forum reports that 70% of businesses believe AI could significantly improve recycling success by mapping material loss. Finally, WRAP’s Blueprint warns that without government action on textiles EPR, UK local authority waste costs could reach £200 million by 2035, adding 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually.
Europe’s supermarket shelves packed with ‘misleading’ claims about recycled plastic packaging
Europe’s supermarket shelves are packed with brands billing their plastic packaging as sustainable, but often only a fraction of the materials are truly recovered from waste, with the rest made from petroleum.
Brands using plastic packaging, from Heinz Beanz to Philadelphia, use materials made by the plastic manufacturing arm of the oil company Saudi Aramco. The Saudi state-owned holding opposes production cuts under the UN plastic treaty and is the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitter (more than 70m tonnes up to 2023).
Read more here.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
A new study, published in the Lancet Planetary Health, has highlighted the extensive health harms associated with plastics are projected to more than double by 2040.
Researchers identified risks at every stage, from the extraction of fossil fuels and material production to the disposal of plastics and their subsequent release into the environment. These include a range of serious conditions such as respiratory illnesses, various cancers, and the broader health implications of global warming.
Read more here.
Coalition unites to ‘modernise’ plastic recycling systems in America
Closed Loop Partners and the Consumer Brands Association are among the founding members of the Recycling Leadership Council (RLC), which aims to ‘modernize’ the American recycling system and tackle plastic waste.
The coalition sets out to support modern manufacturing solutions, strengthen resource efficiency, and back policies that improve recycling rates. While it acknowledges that plastic packaging is an affordable, lightweight solution used to protect food, medical, and electronic products, it also warns that ‘outdated’ recycling frameworks in the United States cannot keep up with the current volume of plastic waste.
Read more here.
Plastic Waste Coalition report states AI is key to packaging circularity
The Consumer Goods Forum’s Plastic Waste Coalition has released a new report on the challenges businesses face when it comes to packaging circularity and how AI could be the key to overcoming many obstacles.
According to the analysis, 70% of businesses believe artificial intelligence can make a huge difference in terms of reuse and recycling success. 40% note that it could help map where and how material loss occurs, in turn saving revenue.
UK textiles industry group publishes 10-point blueprint for mandatory EPR scheme
A coalition of UK textiles industry stakeholders has published a blueprint setting out how an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme should be designed, warning that without government action the used textiles sector faces collapse.
The Blueprint for a UK Textiles EPR Scheme, published by WRAP on behalf of the UK Textiles Pact, highlights that without action local authority costs for dealing with textile waste could rise from £73 million to £137 million per year, increasing to £200 million by 2035. This would result in an estimated 2.5 million additional tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year from increased disposal.