We must change how we design, use, and reuse plastics. We cannot simply recycle or reduce our way out of the plastic pollution crisis. If we don’t act now, by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans.
A circular economy for plastic
The circular economy considers every stage of a product’s journey – before and after it reaches the customer. This approach is not only vital to stop plastic pollution, it also offers strong economic, social, and climate benefits. By 2040 a circular economy has the potential to:
reduce the annual volume of plastics entering our oceans by 80%
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25%
generate savings of USD 200 bn per year
create 700,000 net additional jobs
ocrean create a circular economy for plastic we must take three actions
Eliminate all problematic and unnecessary plastic items
Innovate to ensure that the plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
Circulate all the plastic items we use to keep them in the economy and out of the environment