2. Recovery and reduction: why we need both

So, now that we’ve recognized the magnitude of the plastic waste crisis and the need for audacious action, the natural next step is to ask, “How?”

The answer is not so simple. A problem as complex as plastic pollution requires a combination of efforts to reduce plastic production and recover plastic waste already leaking into our environment.

It is crucial to recognize that there is no silver bullet solution to plastic waste. However, with a firm commitment to both reduction and recovery, it is technically possible for governments and businesses to near-eliminate the leakage of plastic waste globally by 2060. The solutions largely exist.

Reduction of plastic is centered on “turning off the tap”: this means we need to bring a halt to the over production and consumption  of plastic. Investment and incentives (financial and regulatory) are needed to reduce or eliminate plastics, find alternatives materials, and design and adopt more effective plastic reuse systems.

There is, quite rightly, a lot of energy and discussion around business targets for plastic reduction. Efforts to spark reduction are slowly gaining momentum. At the same time, and as the world’s population grows - production of plastic continues to increase rapidly, rather than the reverse. It is apparent that reduction of plastic will take time to implement. But even a commitment to reduce plastic waste by 2030 or 2040 is effectively a commitment to keep producing plastic until that date. It would take a series of seismic changes for us to get close to stopping plastic production altogether.

But plastic waste is already choking our oceans and flooding our ecosystems. Despite all existing efforts to ban plastics and reduce plastic pollution, 40% of today’s global plastic waste ends up in the environment.

Recovery of plastic waste allows us to act on this problem now. Investments in recycling and recovery infrastructure help to build a system that will prevent plastic waste from polluting nature. This funding can ensure that waste is managed responsibly and efficiently. And the impact of investment can be near immediate.

rePurpose Global’s Verified Plastic Recovery (VPR) solution is an example of this. Our plastic recovery projects create systems and infrastructure to recover waste from under-served communities. Though it depends on the nuances of each local waste value chain, financial incentives can ensure that collection happens, or that plastic is sorted effectively to allow for recycling, for example. VPR is tied to outcomes - every dollar spent guarantees a certain amount of waste is prevented from polluting the environment. This means brands can take instant action.

If there is one takeaway from this learning pathway, it is that reduction and recovery are two sides of the same coin. A concerted effort by governments, businesses, and consumers to integrate both reduction and recovery in future solutions can reduce plastic pollution to just a small fraction of the dangerous projected levels that will be reached otherwise.

In the next article, we will learn more about how our team at rePurpose Global approaches impact creation. And how, through our philosophy and protocols surrounding VPR, we go beyond plastic recovery to create social and environmental impacts in projects around the world.