Addressing the plastics waste challenge Circular economy forum highlights shifts in thinking across supply chain

摘要

Efforts across the supply chain to close the loop on plastics waste were highlighted at a recent National Geographic Circular Economy Forum in Washington,DC,which drew 400.Ellen MacArthur Foundation CEO Andrew Morlet said in a keynote address that there needs to be a systemic rethink to create a new plastics economy,including a shift from the linear”take-make-waste”model.”The bigger idea with circular is to create value and to keep materials in the economy for as long as possible,”Morlet said.”Circular takes the entire system into account,things like maintenance,reuse,resale,remanufacturing.”Recycling is a critical challenge,but efforts need to focus upstream in parallel with efforts to build waste infrastructure,clean up plastics already in the environment,and improve the economics of recycling.”We have to go upstream,we’ll have to eliminate use of plastics in some applications,”Morlet said.”The bigger idea is not better recycling.It’s thinking about the entire system,thinking about how we keep materials in flow.We need to go back to the source.We need to engage designers and equip them to be able to design according to principles of circular economy.”