Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Plastics News
  • Plastics News China
SustainablePlasticsFINAL
Subscribe
  • Login
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Recycling
    • Sustainability
    • Bioplastics
    • Technology & Materials
    • Borealis explores chemical recycling project with Stena Recycling
      PET recycler issues carbon credits endorsed by Gold Standard
      Enviroo gets green light for construction PET recycling plant at Protos
      Regenyx-recycling-main_i.jpg
      AmSty, Agilyx to develop chemical recycling site in Louisiana
    • What would Sweden do?
      Avantium’s Ray Technology yields plant-based glycols suitable for commercial applications
      Promising project to replace plastic films with bio-based barrier coatings enters stage two
      Fishy solutions
    • Newlight’s Restore foodware products debut at Target
      Packaging Matters, Origin Materials broaden collaboration to include PEF packaging
      Total Corbion PLA shows off Luminy portfolio at in-person Chinaplas event
      Avantium reaches milestone for FDCA flagship plant with Resilux commitment
    • Injection Moulding
    • Blow Moulding
    • Extrusion
    • Thermoforming
    • 3D printing
    • Technology
    • Materials
    • Machinery
  • Opinion
    • View Point
    • Getting to GRIPS with landfill plastics
      EuPC says exemptions to the SUP Directive are not the way forward
      PHA: As green as it gets
      Opinion: The future of sustainable plastic
  • Events
    • Our Exhibitions
    • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
    • Ask the Expert
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
  • Prices & Resources
    • Polymer Prices
    • Data Reports
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Media Pack
  • Subscribe
  • Digital magazine
    • Digital Magazine
  • Multimedia
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
June 13, 2017 07:00 AM

WWF environmental effort gains plastics industry backing

By Jim Johnson, Plastics News
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    World Wildlife Fund
    The World Wildlife Fund's Cascading Materials Vision is intended to find a way to reduce pollution.

    World Wildlife Fund The World Wildlife Fund's Cascading Materials Vision is intended to find a way to reduce pollution.

    A nonprofit group known for work with endangered species is launching a new effort to promote reuse of materials, including plastics.

    The World Wildlife Fund is out with what it calls the Cascading Materials Vision, an effort that seeks to minimise barriers for increased use of recycled materials.

    the European Bioplastic Association, the American Chemistry Council, the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment, DuPont Co. and the Recycling Partnership are among the initial group of organisations and companies supporting the idea.

    With global population continuing to rise, WWF sees efficient materials management as a way to ease the use of resources and decrease waste disposal, which the group says "negatively impacts ecosystems and communities."

    While businesses seek to use more secondary materials, there are what the non-profit calls systematic barriers influencing both quality and quantity. And that's where the new effort hopes to have an impact.

    Steve Russell, vice president of plastics at ACC, said while the set of guiding principles are broad and ambitious, he said they also are well thought out.

    "ACC has been involved in discussions around recycling policy and waste management, waste minimalisation for many years. And, more recently, those discussions have taken on a new imperative because of the marine debris work. There's a lot of ideas out there. There is the zero waste movement, sustainable materials management, circular economy. In all of those discussions, it strikes us that there are some common themes," he said.

    "And we were really intrigued that WWF took the initiative to pull many of those, we thought, most helpful streams together," Russell said. "They thought through this pretty deeply and their vision aligned very well with our policy objectives."

    Global food giant Nestle, which has an extensive bottled water business, is one of the initial supporters of the program.

    "Continually improving the environmental performance of our packaging following a life cycle approach is a key driver in our product and packaging development process. The guiding principles described in the WWF's Cascading Materials Vision are therefore fully aligned with Nestle's ambition to prevent littering and packaging going to landfill," said Marco Bernasconi, global head of packaging, at Nestle.

    There are 10 guiding principles for the vision, including one that stresses maximising benefit for both the environment and society while measuring impact.

    "Solutions," ACC's Russell said, "need to be evaluated by the effect they have on the environment and people."

    Another principle addresses designing products to account for waste management.

    "If we are making design decisions, we should be doing that in connection with an understanding of how the product gets used. In the past, that hasn't been as frequently linked," Russell said.

    The guiding principles also call for a "systems approach" toward waste management.

    "In order for a waste management system to function well, you got to have optimised collection. You have to have stakeholder outreach. You have to have an end-use market in place. None of the pieces can be done by themselves. So a systems approach, we think, is particularly critical," Russell said.

    Those signing on to support the Cascading Materials Vision platform "agree to abide by a set of guiding principles for decision making that align materials management practices, allow for greater collaboration across industry and create easier sourcing of secondary materials," WWF indicated.

    Other guidelines address sharing responsibility, inclusive solutions, effective policy, adaptability, diversity and science.

    "The vision includes many of the philosophies upon which our organisation is based," said Ameripen President Lee Anderson in a statement, "including science-based decision making, a systems approach, effective policies and adaptability."

    "We can quite literally do more with less simply by using materials more than once," said Erin Simon deputy director of packaging and material science at WWF, in a statement. "By bringing stakeholders together onto one cohesive platform, the Cascading Materials Vision will help reduce the burden on our natural systems and enable creation of the global markets needed to make quality secondary materials accessible and reliable."

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Sustainable Plastics' news delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Sustainable Plastics Media Kit Cover

    Subscriptions to Sustainable Plastics, the leading Pan-European magazine for the circular plastics industry.

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    "In a changing world, Sustainable Plastics is a constant: a platform the plastics industry can rely on to deliver the news and knowhow impacting the industry going forward”

    SustainablePlasticsFINAL
    Contact Us

    11 Ironmonger Lane, EC2V 8EY
    United Kingdom 
     

    Customer Service:
    1-313-446-0450

    [email protected]

     

    Resources
    • Advertise
    • Sitemap
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
    Affiliates
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • LSR World
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Tire Business
    • Rubber & Plastics News
    • Automotive News
    • Automotive News Europe
    • Crain Publications
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Recycling
      • Sustainability
      • Bioplastics
      • Technology & Materials
        • Injection Moulding
        • Blow Moulding
        • Extrusion
        • Thermoforming
        • 3D printing
        • Technology
        • Materials
        • Machinery
    • Opinion
      • View Point
    • Events
      • Our Exhibitions
        • Plastics Recycling Show Europe
      • Plastics Industry Awards (PIA)
      • Ask the Expert
      • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Plastics News Europe Live Archives
    • Prices & Resources
      • Polymer Prices
      • Data Reports
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Media Pack
    • Subscribe
    • Digital magazine
      • Digital Magazine
    • Multimedia