To tackle plastic pollution at the source, we must stop plastics from becoming waste in the first place. We need to move away from today’s linear take-make-waste model and fundamentally rethink the way we design, use, and reuse plastics.
The New Plastics Economy has set out a vision for a global plastics system in which plastics never become waste – a circular economy for plastics. Problematic and unnecessary plastics are designed out. New business models transform the way plastics are used and all plastics are safely reused, recycled or composted into new packaging and products.
More than 450 organisations have signed up to this vision as part of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. Governments and companies representing 20% of all plastic packaging produced worldwide, many of them well-known international consumer brands, have committed to take action towards it.
Realising this ambitious vision will require unprecedented levels of collaboration, not just globally, but also at national and regional levels to work towards solutions tailored to each and every local context.
The Plastics Pact is a network of initiatives that bring together all key stakeholders at the national or regional level to implement solutions towards a circular economy for plastics. Each initiative is led by a local organisation and unites governments, businesses, and citizens behind the common vision with a concrete set of ambitious local targets, for example in the following areas:
- Eliminate unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging through redesign and innovation
- Move from single-use to reuse where relevant
- Ensure all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable
- Increase the reuse, collection, and recycling or composting of plastic packaging
- Increase recycled content in plastic packaging
The Plastics Pact network connects initiatives and organisations from around the world
