Systems Change for a Circular Economy

Plastic waste leaking into nature will triple by 2040. All existing government and industry commitments, if met, will reduce this by just 7%. What's missing?

The Plastic Waste Crisis

A Global Emergency

The problem is too massive to wait on any one solution.

We need a better system.

Each of us have multiple roles to play. Governments, packaged goods companies, consumers, and innovators need to come together for investment across the plastic value chain.

A Spotlight of the Most Impacftful Interventions

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Design for multi-use

By some estimates, the majority of plastic in our oceans were used for just 15 minutes before being discarded. We need to focus on reducing use and throw consumption.

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Design for recyclability

Some types of plastic like PET, metal, cardboard, glass, and biodegradable alternatives are much better suited for an environmentally sustainable end of life.

Reduce waste exports

Over the last few decades, millions of tonnes of plastic waste has been shipped to countries in the Global South who lack the regulations and the infrastructure for ethical processing.

Prevent nature leakage

In order to create genuinely holistic long-term solutions, we need collection systems to capture plastic before it leaks into nature. This is the biggest gap in the plastic value chain.

Scale up infrastructure

Less than 9% of plastic waste is recycled even though the solutions exist because we lack critical infrastructure and adequate investment in end of life innovation.

Regulatory pressure

Governments need to enforce more stringent packaging reduction and recovery requirements, while also creating systems to help nations being inequitably affected.

Trust in Science.

With extensive research into the topic by academics and think tanks, the results are clear - we need to take urgent action across a broad spectrum of plastic reduction, substitution, recovery, and recycling initiatives to truly reach a circular economy.

Together, we can solve the plastic crisis.

Innovation Alliance for the UN Global Plastic Treaty

In partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, rePurpose Global created the IAGPT to promote the role of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship in the Global Plastics Treaty and accelerate systems change across the entire plastic pollution lifecycle, from source to sea.