Closing plastic cycles

Working Group

Challenges

Up to 12.7 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year

56% of the total volume of plastic has been produced since 2000

The average product lifetime for plastic plackaging is 0.5 years

Only 9% of the globally produced plastic is recycled

Objectives of the working group

This working group advocates the conservation of natural resources and the development of a circular economy for plastic in order to stop the pollution of the world’s oceans by plastic. The focus here is on the following specific goals:

Conserving resources by preventing plastic waste and developing recycling systems for plastic packaging
Effectively promote the prevention of plastic waste worldwide, guided by the waste hierarchy
Promote plastic recycling along the entire cycle, thinking from design to the use of recycled plastic in new products
Develop approaches on waste collection, involving the informal sector
Bring forward producer responsibility and support take-back and recycling systems for packaging waste, as well as establish sustainable financing mechanisms

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“Adupi is very confident and high hope that PREVENT will not only help us to reduce plastic waste but also to increase collection of raw materials needed for the plastics recycling industry. We look forward to work together with PREVENT to raise public awareness about plastic recycling and increase the usage of recycled materials.”

Christine Halim, Chairwoman of Indonesian Plastics Recycling Association ADUPI.

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“As a society, we need to change our way of thinking completely in order to create a future worth living without waste and the squandering of resources. Therefore, we need platforms like the PREVENT Waste Alliance to bring together the many stakeholders and implement solutions together.”

Nora Sophie Griefahn, Cradle to Cradle NGO, Executive Director.

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EPR schemes have proven to enable sustainable financing for effective waste management systems while facilitating the transition towards the circular economy. The EPR Toolbox has been of great value in increasing the capacity and awareness of relevant stakeholders on EPR.

Xin (Vivian) Chen, WWF, Global EPR Project Manager.

Resources

EPR-Toolbox. A toolbox on how extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems can be created and expanded was developed in a series of co-creation workshops and published. It contains detailed information about EPR and introduces a number of distinct issues, including legal conditions, incentive systems for citizens and ways of integrating the informal sector.

Study. In a study on “Prevention of plastic waste in production and consumption by multi-actor partnerships“, the working group presents 17 best practice examples. From these, recommendations for the reduction of plastic waste are drawn, and success factors, important steps and conclusions regarding the necessary political framework conditions are presented.

Discussion paper. The discussion paper “Plastic credit schemes and EPR – risks and opportunities” was developed within the PREVENT Waste Alliance sub-working group on plastic credits. It outlines necessary quality requirements and standards to ensure that plastic credit schemes lead to more circularity and do not undermine incentives for EPR and waste prevention.

Joint Statement. Plastic credits are one part of the solution to tackle the plastic waste crisis – this is the message of the group of plastic credit voluntary standard setters who are active in the PREVENT Waste Alliance. The group for the first time has developed a joint position.

Discussion paper. To move towards a universally accepted framework for corporate plastic waste disclosure, the sub-working group on Plastic Accounting (Corporate Stream) has developed a discussion paper. It summarizes the existing frameworks for corporate plastic waste disclosures and provides recommendations for their improvement.

The ValuCred Handbook introduces the key concepts of the Standard Process Model (SPM). It explains guiding principles for the integration of minimum requirements for the plastic credit market to foster greater transparency and accountability of all stakeholders involved.

Applying the ValuCred Standard Process Model (SPM) and its digital interface leads to ESG-relevant data collection. The ValuCred reporting structure is shown in an Exemplary ESG-Report of a Service Provider.

The ValuCred Standard Process Model is visualized in flow charts to show the logical and temporal sequence of the process steps: Overall Flow Chart (for both brands and service providers); Flow Chart for Brands; Flow Chart for Service Providers

Report. The design of a plastic product determines its ecological impact as well as its suitability for high quality recycling. For a better management of plastics and plastic waste, it is key to improve packaging design.

The report “Achieving more circularity in the future global plastics agreement: Common criteria to improve packaging design” aims to provide guidelines for improving the design of plastic packaging by drawing on both circular product design and eco-design principles. It informs stakeholders and decision-makers from the private sector, public institutions, and governments on the potential of improved product design as a way to prevent plastic pollution and drive more circularity.

Pilot projects

In three pilot projects innovative solutions on closing plastic cycles are tested in different local contexts. The elaborated recommendations and tools are adapted to specific local conditions and guide implementation in selected countries.

Creating value in plastic through digital technology in Indonesia.

Plastic Credits for inclusive and transparent circularity in Brazil, Mexico, India and Vietnam.

Enhancing awareness and employment through recycling in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Why join?

We connect perspectives and expertise among a large group of stakeholders engaged at all levels of the plastic value chain.
We foster in-depth knowledge exchange on specific technical questions in smaller sub-working groups (e.g. Plastic credits, EPR schemes), which are established based on demand.
We bring together our expertise and experiences and develop knowledge products such as guidelines, tools, recommendations and standards.
We provide scalable solutions by developing and piloting innovative ideas.

Become a member!

You are active in the field of waste management and circular economy or you are a stakeholder in the plastic or electronics value chains? You want to intensify your cooperation with partners?