Plastics Europe

Circularity

The circular economy is about recognising and capturing the value of plastics as a resource, with the least impact on the climate. Over recent years, Plastics Europe has accelerated the transition to a circular economy, among other actions.

The shift to a circular economy for plastics

Transitioning to a circular economy is vital. To do so, we must harness the power of innovation and technology to significantly increase reuse and recycling by, for example, creating more recyclable products and more innovative recycling techniques. The shift also requires a policy and regulatory framework that helps promote chemical recycling and harmonised collection and mechanical recycling, while stimulating investment and the growth of markets for secondary raw materials.

Although the circular economy is a highly effective concept for preventing plastics from ending up in landfill, being incinerated or polluting our oceans while we continue to enjoy their benefits, additional measures are also necessary. These include stopping the prevention of any and all pellet loss from our operations, ensuring the proper disposal of post-consumer plastics waste for increased collection and sorting as well as greater awareness raising within our industry and civil society.

However, the circular economy for plastics is not just about waste. While eliminating leakage and the increased use of secondary materials is one part of the picture, the widespread adoption of renewable feedstocks completes this picture.

Plastics – too valuable to throw away

orange dot drops suitcase with woman looking through a camera
1 min read

The Dot-Drops suitcase: repairable and durable

With an average lifespan of five years, the bin is the final destination for most suitcases. However, Dot-Drops — a leather goods brand from Alsace — seeks to change this by creating the first eco-suitcase.
pump bottles for cosmetics
2 min read

First single-material pump for 100% recyclable packaging

By 2030, all plastic packaging in the EU must be recyclable or re-usable. This is a major challenge and a race to develop sustainable packaging has started among all relevant manufacturers.
plastic packaging bottles
8 min read

Packaging in search of greater virtue

Although often singled out, plastic packaging is often more virtuous than we might think. Faced with the climate challenge, they are reinventing themselves. Here is an overview of the innovations already on the shelves.
Albéa's EcoFusion Top
1 min read

Featherweight packaging: Albéa’s EcoFusion Top

Packaging manufacturer Albéa has developed a new solution, the EcoFusion Top, to close its tubes and also reduce their overall weight.
refillable plastic pouches
1 min read

New 100% PE e-fill!

Arcade Beauty, the US world leader in sample and single-dose solutions for perfume and beauty, has developed its first single-material polyethylene e-fill for L’Oréal.
e-commerce plastic packaging box
2 min read

The Box, next-generation packaging

LivingPackets, a start-up from Nantes, France, and its German partner Storopack have developed a smart packaging solution designed for e-commerce.
10 min read

Reusable plastics: (re)filling the bill

When you think of a circular economy, recycling is the first thing to spring to mind; after all, it’s a vital part of resource-efficient consumption. Despite this, it comes second to prevention and reuse in terms of priority actions. Substituting single-use items for reusable ones is a complex challenge… but it’s one that plastics have […]
1 min read

Bonici Box: the reusable pizza box

The decision to move from cardboard boxes to plastic boxes is a bold one… However, this is precisely what Jérôme Bonici — president and founder of Pizza Bonici — has done.
McDonald’s golden arches sign
2 min read

McDonald’s packaging: From disposable to reusable plastic

On-site fast-food consumption in France is changing. As of the 1st of January 2023, reusable packaging has replaced single-use packaging in accordance with the anti-waste law for a circular economy (Agec) that was passed in 2020.