Launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and UN Environment in October 2018, the
New Plastics Economy Global Commitment is an initiative aimed at addressing the plastic waste and pollution crisis at its source and keeping plastics within the economy.
It has been signed by over 400 companies and organisations, one of the recent of which is Sidel, a leading manufacturer of packaging solutions.
The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment formulates ambitious goals, which include taking action to eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging – through redesign, innovation and new delivery models – as well as embracing reuse models with the aim of 100% of all plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
In Europe, the consumption of packaged beverage alone is growing at a rate of 1.3% per year. Approximately 37% of all beverage volume is packaged in PET, which is highly recyclable. Recycling PET bottles also makes economic sense: the value of a bale of PET bottles can range between 300 and 600 Euros per tonne, depending on its quality, said Luc Desoutter, sustainability officer at Sidel. “We are witnessing a significant shift in attitudes towards how PET is recycled and we want to use our engagement as part of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to support and promote this development towards maximum collection and recycling rates.”
The company has also formulated an ambitious set of targets of its own, centred on its
End to End approach, which takes into account the impacts created upstream and downstream in the value chain. Sidel has long been collaborating with different leading industry associations to continuously promote the unique properties of PET packaging and to develop designs for its recycling standards.