Plastics sustainability is one of the top priorities and a potential disruptor for the chemical industry as well as determining the future role of plastics in our society. Much work remains to develop sustainable business models and behavioral models to address this systemic issue with transformation of the linear approach to plastics into a circular economy. Initiatives are underway to end plastics waste with an articulated approach of clean-up, infrastructure development, innovation, and communications. What is the status of these developments? What are the drivers and actions to ensure plastics sustainability from a policy perspective? Who should take responsibility across the value chain? How will technology and infrastructure development affect the outcome?
Plastics sustainability is a key issue for the industry and for society. New policies are banning plastics in single-use applications and prescribing aggressive plastics recycling goals. Concurrently, global plastics annual consumption is greater than 300 million tons and is growing at a multiple of GDP with increasing plastics waste. Now, participants in the plastics value chain are responding to the crisis. What interventions are underway? Are there success stories? Can the linear business model change course to systemic circularity and how long before we see an inflection point?