Wake-up and Smell the Environmental Coffee
British Standard for the ‘circular economy’ launched BSI, the business standards company, has launched a new standard for the ‘circular...
Read Full ArticleThe Ellen MacArthur Foundation, together with The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit, have, this week ending May 19, announced the launch of the $2 million New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize.
The Prize which is funded by Wendy Schmidt as Lead Philanthropic Partner of the New Plastics Economy Initiative, calls for innovators, designers, scientist and entrepreneurs to help create packaging that keeps plastics out of the ocean.
The demand for plastics products is expected to double in the next 20 years – but the plastics system is broken. Only 14% of plastic packaging is recycled, with the remainder, worth $80-120 billion, lost as waste. Most plastic packaging items are used only once before being discarded, often ending up polluting the environment. If nothing changes, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. This new prize aims to keep plastics as valuable materials in the economy, and out of the ocean.
Still poor on recycling
After 40 years of effort, globally only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, with one third escaping collection and ending up in the environment. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit say better materials, clever product designs and circular business models are needed. The Prize calls for innovators, designers, scientists and entrepreneurs to help create a plastics system that works.
At a meeting earlier this year, HRH The Prince of Wales met with business leaders, designers and material experts, to emphasise the urgency of the need to re-think the global plastics system and highlighted the important role of innovation and design in the transition to a circular economy in order to stem the flow of plastics into the ocean.
To achieve the goal of eliminating plastic packaging waste, the Prize is composed of two parallel challenges:
The first winners will be announced later this year.
Article written by Cathryn Ellis | Published 19 May 2017
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