DELIVERING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY A TOOLKIT FOR POLICYMAKERS

130 • DELIVERING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY – A TOOLKIT FOR POLICYMAKERS
short period of use, packaging materials become waste relatively quickly after they have
entered the market. Recirculating plastic packaging is particularly challenging since it is
not only very dispersed and therefore relatively hard to collect – which is generally the
case for consumer packaging – but it also has a diverse make-up in comparison to, for
instance, board-based packaging; plastics also have low material value compared with
aluminium or tin-plated steel.
The plastic packaging value chain comprises firstly the design and production of
plastic material and packaging, and secondly the after-use phase of collection, waste
segregation, and reprocessing. The challenge with influencing the production elements
is that they are typically international, so potential regulations or standardisations
concerning materials or additives must be decided on an international level. The afteruse
phase is more localised, and so is an easier area of direct influence for an individual
national policymaker. But after-use measures cannot be optimised in isolation; they
need to be made in concert with design and production standards. While the outcome
of applying this toolkit provides a set of options for national or regional policymakers,
another project - the Global Plastic Packaging Roadmap (GPPR, see Box 7) addresses
the systemic issues of the current linear plastics economy at a global level, by bringing
together international stakeholders involved in plastics and packaging design as well as
national stakeholders responsible for collection and recovery systems.
Thus, the Denmark pilot takes a national perspective on opportunities to increase
recycling by focusing on improving the after-use treatment (Section 3.5.1). The
opportunity to develop bio-based packaging (Section 3.5.2) should meanwhile be
seen in the context of driving technology and innovation rather than setting national
regulations for bio-based materials.
Box 7: The Global Plastic Packaging Roadmap
Mobilized in 2014, as part of the MainStream Project, the Global Plastic
Packaging Roadmap (GPPR) initiative leverages the convening power of the
World Economic Forum, the analytical capabilities of McKinsey & Company, and
the circular economy innovation capabilities of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The vision of the Global Plastic Packaging Roadmap (GPPR) is of an economy
where plastic packaging never becomes waste but re-enters the economy as
defined, valuable, biological or technical nutrients – a ‘new plastics economy’.
The GPPR provides an action plan towards this new plastics economy as an
economically and environmentally attractive alternative to the linear model.
The project is driven by a steering committee composed of nine global leading
company CEOs and more than 30 participant organizations across the entire
plastics value chain ranging from plastics manufacturers to brand owners and
retailers in FMCG to municipal waste collection and after-use treatment systems.
This integrative project setup allows for accelerating systemic change through
innovation and collaboration. The GPPR works collaboratively with a number of
existing initiatives focused on ocean plastics waste including the Global Oceans
Commission, Ocean Conservancy, the Prince’s Trust International Sustainability
Unit, governmental institutions and policymakers. The project’s unique focus on
systemic change will complement and inform these other initiatives.
Besides fostering innovation and collaboration across the value chain, the GPPR
project will also inform and influence policy on a corporate and governmental
level, by highlighting interventions that either hinder or accelerate the transition
towards the new plastics economy. First results from the GPPR will be published
in January 2016 at the World Economic Forum in Davos.