Reuse report calls for global standards and coordinated action to tackle plastic waste

According to recent research, enacting a worldwide plastics convention and introducing tailored incentives to discourage the use of single-use containers will be crucial instruments for expanding reuse initiatives.

 

 

According to recent research, enacting a worldwide plastics convention and introducing tailored incentives to discourage the use of single-use containers will be crucial instruments for expanding reuse initiatives.

 

The calls have been made in a report produced by the non-profit Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), taking into account the consequences for increasing resource reuse in the global south.

 

Reuse is a business model that, although different from recycling, can support waste reduction initiatives by guaranteeing that packaging can be used for a variety of purposes, according to the foundation, which seeks to promote more circularity in global supply chains and waste streams.

Along with additional lessons for putting circularity policy into practice both domestically and internationally, the paper includes an examination of case studies that are currently under progress in areas like South America and South Asia.

 

According to the findings, scaling up reuse programs in the global south was fraught with difficulties. More reusable items in waste and supply chains were being hampered by these, including legislative limitations and a lack of funds for new infrastructure.

The requirement for uniform standards and procedures to change packaging material value chains across more nations was another issue.

 

The Foundation stated: “These are important because they facilitate collaboration, reduce complexity, ensure compatibility, build consumer confidence, simplify compliance and accelerate innovation.”

 

Any attempt to increase reuse programs would need better international coordination to enable infrastructure and collaboration to further efforts to solve single-use materials and packaging.

According to the Foundation's conclusions, policy reforms should take a new tack in order to facilitate more coordination among nations while acknowledging the necessity of well-defined national processes.

 

It stated: “To be most effective, reuse systems must be tailored to the local context. However certain universal enabling conditions can support the transition and enable countries to reap the other economic and environmental benefits associated with reuse.”

 

Priorities for change
 

The findings promote worldwide coordination for the development of the reuse industry by identifying three major priorities. This includes the chance to more closely harmonize rules and regulations on packaging and reuse.

Clear definition and reuse goals, supported by industry pledges to reduce the demand for virgin plastic, can promote shared strategies between many organizations and authorities, the foundation noted.

 

It added: “Reuse metrics can serve as a starting point to set out a common way for companies to measure reuse across product ranges and geographies.”

 

The Foundation made a last appeal about financial assistance, such as by establishing tax exemptions or subsidies as a means of discouraging single-use packaging. Several South American instances were cited in the report as examples of what other nations could do.

 

It stated: “Colombia, for example, placed a 20% tax on most single-use plastics, including packaging, containers and wrapping. Meanwhile, Brazil recently introduced a policy to incentivise recycling and reuse, including fiscal incentives for reuse projects. Economic measures are essential to drive the adoption of reuse and discourage reliance on single-use systems.”

 

 

The report stated: “The global plastics treaty offers a crucial opportunity to accelerate the transition from single-use to reusable products and systems. As negotiations have still yet to conclude, governments have the opportunity to champion an ambitious agreement that enforces global rules across the full lifecycle of plastics, and reuse is a vital part of this solution.”

 

After discussions organized by the UN Environment Programme in South Korea late last year failed to produce a deal, negotiations on a global agreement on plastics use and waste management are anticipated to restart this year.