Bioplastics, biodegradable packaging and other nature-based solutions, offer enormous potential for reducing the industry’s reliance on virgin fossil fuel feedstocks. But not without its challenges.
Looking to Nature for Innovative Solutions Read More »
Moving from a “take-make-waste” economic model to a circular world of infinite abundance, a world free of waste is closer than we think.
A Waste-Free World Read More »
A more systemic approach to investing is influencing the flow of money away from old ways of financial thinking towards new solutions that push living assets to the fore. The growing importance of “non-financial factors”, environmental, social and governance considerations, in determining the flow of funds from a rapidly expanding pool of investors and banks
Packaging Economics Read More »
From take-make-dispose to a re-cyclical model, PET holds the key to reaching the world’s recycling goals. The world has had a logo for recycling since 1970, when student Gary Anderson won a competition to design a symbol with his easily recognisable Mobius loop. Sponsored by the Container Corporation of America, it was hoped that the
Identifying the challenges that need to be overcome in the journey towards a world free of waste One of the highlights of the seismic shift in people’s attitudes towards plastic, and sustainability in general, in the last five years has been the response from brands, entrepreneurs and activists re-thinking the plastics industry. The New Plastics Economy
A Solutions Network Read More »
There’s no going back for brands that want to win over the next generation of movers and shakers. Consumers have never wielded as much power as they do in the digital age, and the next generation of consumers are conscious of this influence more than any other before them. Almost born with a smart phone
Gen Z to the Rescue Read More »
Why it’s time to take the blame out of the plastics game and move towards whole systems thinking A blame game between environmental activists, plastics producers and consumers has dominated the conversation surrounding the material and the environmental costs of its misuse. This difficult discussion has for almost four decades frustrated the search for an
An End to Trash Talking Read More »
Sir David Attenborough sticks the plastic knife into single use plastics and the world wakes up to the problem. *Portrait of Sir David Attenborough in 1984. Image by Neville Marriner/Daily Mail/Shutterstock. It took two people with a profound relationship with the oceans to wake the world up to our irresponsible behaviour unhealthy relationship with plastic.
The Blue Planet Effect Read More »
How the Ellen MacArthur Foundation & the New Plastics Economy changed the conversation taking place around plastic waste and packaging. In 2005, the year that Ellen MacArthur broke the world record for sailing non-stop around the world single-handedly, there were 263 million tonnes of plastic being produced each year with less than 10% of that
Setting Sail on a New Course Read More »
How did we get here and the reasons for the success of plastic in the modern era. Humankind’s 150 year experiment with plastic began in 1869 when John Wesley Hyatt was inspired by an offer of $10,000 for anyone who could come up with a substitute for ivory. The growing popularity of billiards had placed
The History of Plastic Read More »