Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Plastics News
  • Plastics News China
  • European Rubber Journal
SustainablePlasticsFINAL
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Recycling
    • Sustainability
    • Bioplastics
    • Technology & Materials
    • VTT-led research project aims to find ways to recover and recycle river plastic waste - profitably
      New mechanical recycling demo plant Borealis and Tomra marries chemistry with technology
      KBR, Mura partner to spur global development of the world’s first advanced recycling process based on steam
      BPF maps out growth path for UK recycling industry to reduce reliance of waste exports
    • Huhtamaki welcomes LCA results on environmental impact of single-use packaging
      Flexible packaging industry seeks stronger alignment with circular economy ambitions
      E-marketplace brings recycled and renewable materials to circular economy
      BPF launches 'Sustainability in the Plastics Supply Chain' report
    • Novamont advances vertical integration growth strategy with acquisition BioBag
      British researchers make sustainable polymer from sugars in wood
      Novamont to further integrate upstream production with construction FDCA demonstration plant
      Sulzer wins contract to install new lactide processing plant in China
    • Injection Moulding
    • Blow Moulding
    • Extrusion
    • Thermoforming
    • 3D printing
    • Technology
    • Materials
    • Machinery
  • Opinion
    • View Point
    • A year to remember
      Opinion: California introduces world’s toughest plastic bottle recycling legislature – will other markets follow?
      Opinion: What to expect from plastic that protects our kids
      Legislation is catching up with our Lifestyle goals
  • 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
    • White Papers
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Media Pack
  • Subscribe
    • Magazine
    • Newsletters
    • List Rental
  • Digital magazine
    • Digital Magazine
  • Multimedia
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
June 12, 2018 07:00 AM

Sustainable plastics design is needed, representatives agree at OECD global forum

Sustainable plastics design is needed, representatives agree at OECD global forum

by Anne Sofie Hoffmann Schrøder, Plastics News Europe
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    OECD/Mariano Bordon
    Plastics should not be demonised or banned altogether, says Daniel Calleja Crespo, the commission's environment director general

    A global policy framework that incentivises sustainable plastics design is needed and essential in building a circular economy.

    This was one of the key conclusions of the introductory session of a Global Forum on Environment in Copenhagen, staged by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), 29-31 May.

    According to a note from the organisers, the forum sought to promote "a shift in sustainable chemistry thinking at the product design stage” by identifying good practice and a policy reducing the environmental and health impact of plastics.

    With plastic pollution peaking, Shardul Agrawala, head of the environment and economy integration division at the OECD environment directorate, stressed the importance of the forum as an attempt to integrate global efforts to reduce plastics waste.

    Indeed, the deputy director general of chemicals and waste management at the South African government's department of environmental affairs, Mark Gordon, proposed the creation of a global protocol on sustainable plastics to ensure controls have worldwide scope. He hoped the plastics sector could adapt to such rules: “We are at the threshold of a new era of the plastics economy, and there is an increasing demand for sustainable products,” he said.

    As for how such rules should be framed, the permanent secretary from the Danish ministry of environment and food, Henrik Studsgaard, stressed: “We do not want to ban it [plastics] altogether, as we regard plastics as a fantastic modern material, but we need to recycle, reuse and redesign it. We need to take the entire life cycle of plastics into consideration.”

    As an EU member state, Denmark will have to follow the European Union (EU) lead on such issues, notably legislation that could follow the European Commission proposing bans on single-use plastic products such as cotton buds and plastic straws and putting the burden of cleaning up waste on manufacturers to reduce marine litter.

    However, Daniel Calleja Crespo, the Commission's environment director general said that plastics should not be demonised or banned altogether, as “plastics play a key role in building a circular economy”.

    He emphasised the importance of the design of the product: “Everything starts with the design of the product. If we optimise the design it leads to more dismantlable and recyclable plastics” and added that everyone has a role to play in the change from a linear towards a circular economy.

    OECD YouTube video

    According to the new OECD report, released before the event, ‘Improving Markets for Recycled Plastics', governments should act urgently to encourage more and better recycling as there is rising public concern over plastic pollution, and recycling is failing to reach its full potential as low recovery rates of plastic waste, poor quality of recycled plastic and a lack of price incentives are holding back secondary plastic markets.

    In 2015, about 380 million tonnes of plastics globally was produced, up from 2 million tonnes in the 1950s. Yet today only 15% of this plastic waste is collected and recycled into secondary plastics globally each year. Plastics have become one of the most prolific materials on the planet, and the pervasiveness of plastics is becoming an urgent public health and planetary problem.

    The author of the report and principal administrator of the OECD's waste team, Peter Börkey, explained that the design stage of the plastics products is crucial and determines the environmental impacts down the line.

    Although he thinks that EU's ban of single use plastics makes sense, bans need to be considered carefully, because plastics deliver a lot of benefits, he said.

    “Instead, we must detoxify the materials that go into our economy in order to be able to effectively clean and close the loops and ensure the safety of our environment and health.”

    To do so, we need a global response and to set international goals, Peter Börkey said the recent interest in plastics is a good opportunity to implement some ambitious policy proposals.

    “Policy actions is at its infancy. But on the national level, we need to level the playing field between recycled and virgin plastics, and to remove environmental harmful subsidies, and we may need to levy taxes on primary plastics to reflect the externalities that they are generating,” he said.

    He hoped the forum would raise awareness about the existing opportunities in improving the design of plastics to create a policy framework that incentivises sustainable plastics design in the future.

    Get our newsletters

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

    Reserve your subscription today

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

    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 
    Tel: +44 (0)1622 370570

    Customer Service:
    1-313-446-0450

    [email protected]

     

    Resources
    • Advertise
    • Sitemap
    • Careers
    • Subscribe
    Affiliates
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • LSR World
    • European Rubber Journal
    • 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
      • White Papers
    • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Media Pack
    • Subscribe
      • Magazine
      • Newsletters
      • List Rental
    • Digital magazine
      • Digital Magazine
    • Multimedia