Business & Industry
In this issue
-
Saving the world 40kgs of plastic at a time
Images of plastic packaging strewn throughout the environment are commonplace in all types of media. Yet these plastic cups and bags are only symptoms of the bigger need to overhaul the ‘take-make-waste’ economy. The problem is visible and understood but what needs to be done and how can individuals help solve it? Devastation from plastics...
-
Banning plastic straws won’t save the ocean; collective action will
Plastic packaging has become almost entirely unavoidable. Eating on the go? The option is often a Styrofoam takeaway container, permeated with grease and therefore non-recyclable. Travelling? The hotel’s shampoo often comes in tiny, non-reusable bottles. Buying a loaf of bread? Even paper bags are fitted with a plastic window. The statistics are well-known: at least...
-
Companies must tackle the building blocks of the global plastic pollution crisis
Pictures of seabirds with brightly coloured plastic in their stomachs, or turtles wrapped in discarded fishing nets, have become all too common. These images have helped spur policy action on the most visible sources of plastic pollution such as single-use bags or straws. There is a far less visible but arguably more harmful culprit stalking...
-
Collaboration is key in today’s circular economy
In a linear economy, ‘take (raw materials), make, use and dispose’ has been the production and consumption process for decades. This process has rightly come under recent scrutiny from all corners of government, industry – and from consumers too. Consumers are demanding less single-use plastic, more information on how and where packaging material is sourced,...
-
Reuse, refill, return: how a circular plastic economy can help end plastic pollution
It is time to stop plastic becoming waste. After all, plastic is a useful and durable material and, while it is harmful in the environment, it can be every bit as valuable in the economy. Today, most plastic packaging is made to be thrown away. An overwhelming 72% of it ends up in landfill or...