Industry: LOOKFANTASTIC.COM and Cult Beauty parent THG have announced a beauty recycling scheme in the UK with waste management company MYGroup and tech business Metrisk. The recycle:me initative will have a target of 1m beauty and cosmetic packaging units in its first year of launch. Consumers will be able to return commonly difficult-to-recycle packaging and products such as plastic tubes, sachets, lip products, mascaras and fragrance bottles for recycling by using a dedicated app to book a collection service free of charge. recycle:me will also use data generated to provide insights into consumer recycling behaviour, supporting brands as they are faced with new and increasingly complex EPR regulation.
Innovation: A new circular economy manufacturing center within the National Manufacturing Institute in Scotland has secured Β£5.5m in funding. This center will focus on sectors critical to national infrastructure, such as aerospace, marine, wind, nuclear and power generation, to promote circular economy practices, increase supply chain resilience and unlock new opportunities for manufacturers. It will adopt a holistic, system-wide approach, addressing challenges through business models, policies, standards, culture, skills and investment, along with metallic and composite-based circular manufacturing technology and inspection processes.
Community: Corporations aren't forgetting about the 'S' in ESG. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion remains high on their radar. From Walmart's $13bn investment in diverse suppliers to PepsiCo's global self-ID campaign. We are seeing effort being put in to reshape workplace culture, boost innovation and foster economic growth in diverse communities.
What's next for the Global Plastics Treaty
The 5th negotiations (INC5) of the Global Plastics Treaty ended without a Treaty. So what happened?
Major areas of disagreement
A consensus could not be reached on sustainable production levels. High ambition countries pushed the Treaty to have obligations to reduce primary polymer production - tackling it at the source and 'turning off the tap'. However, the low ambition or 'spoiler' countries (who call themselves the likeminded group) wanted the Treaty to focus only on downstream plastic pollution. We know this is merely putting a bandage on a broken arm.
Products and chemicals of concern were another major sticking point. High ambition countries wanted strong criterion and global lists prohibiting certain products and chemicals of conecrn. Low ambition countries wanted this to be decided at the national level. Certain countries such as Iran wanted removal of reference to chemicals of concern for fear of the economic impact on the industry. Chemical lobbyists turned up helped stoking this fear, turning up in the hundreds!
EPR was another contentious issue. High ambition countries wanted EPR to be mandatory and globally set, but low ambition countries wanted EPR to be voluntary at the national level. The Business Coalition of over 275+ global organizations made global mandatory EPR one of their key asks for the Global Plastics Treaty - shedding light on the economic and operational impact voluntary EPR has on businesses when there isn't a level playing field.
Unsurprisingly, the same fault lines on financing were present at INC5 as seen in other multilateral agreements. Developed countries (led by the US) opposed the creation of a new multilateral fund to be established to support developing countries meet the Treaty obligations.
Text on reporting was weak, focusing on standard national reporting, not corporate reporting. Despite most impacts from plastics being the result of corporate activities in the jurisidction!
Low ambition countries also displayed deliberate, overt 'delay' tactics in an attempt to stall the negotiations. This included asking to renegotiate introductory areas of the Treaty, asking for more time to put forward their own text versions and others.
What's next?
There will be an INC5.2 sometime next year. Am I hopeful? Well...
I find it very difficult to forsee how a Treaty agreed by all UN Member States will be bold and ambitious, tackling overproduction, the root cause of the plastics crisis, and human health impacts.
However, that's not to say an agreement cannot be reached. Ultimately it's a negotiation, Member States must give and take to reach a consensus.
There are also rumours about the 'Treaty of the Willing'. This suggests if the Global Plastics Treaty isn't bold and ambitious, some Member States may sign a Treaty between them. This could create some level of ambitious harmonization which would still be welcome.
Circular Digest recommends...
πΊBuy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy is a new netflix documentary that unpacks the tricks brands use to keep their customers consuming β and the real impact they have on our lives and the world. From how Apple design their products to make it impossible to repair to Adidas using hazardous plastic, this documentary will have you rethinking your next purchase.
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Kayleigh
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Kayleigh Lee-Simion
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