Two years ago, blue chip companies such as Coca-cola and Nestle pledged to reduce their plastic output, by changing their attitude to packaging. Two years on it looks like they have increased their recycled plastic in their packaging, but are still struggling to reduce their single use plastic packaging. Ellen MacArthur Foundation reported that recycled plastic packaging was up 22% between 2018 and 2019.
It is clear that the companies signed up to reduce their plastic output are still driving this throwaway society. Instead of producing reusable packaging they are alternatively switching to recycled plastic, bioplastic and paper packaging.
Sander Defruyt, at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said firms should “rethink what packaging is put on the market in the first place”.
“We are calling on industry to rapidly increase efforts to reduce single-use packaging and eliminate packaging types that have no credible pathway to making recycling work in practice and at scale,”
With Joe Biden taking office in the near future, and his plans to tackle climate change and re join the Paris climate agreement. It will be interesting to see what he does over the next four years to force these companies to bring their plastic pollution under control.
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