Regulation and the Circular Economy: Can the U.S. Turn the Tide on Plastic Pollution?

Sharing a recent post from the Reusasble Packaging Association on sustainability and the circular economy.

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It would be an understatement to say that plastic pollution has become top of mind. Images of sea turtles tangled in plastic rings, ocean plastic trash heaps, and the idea that tiny plastic particles reside in fish, our water supply, and even people, have collectively heightened concerns. Here’s something to chew on: according to research, the average American may be consuming more than 70,000 micro-plastic particles a year.

Recycling is an insufficient solution to plastic pollution 

To date, market forces and the existing recycling infrastructure have failed to keep consumer plastic waste out of the environment. As a result, people are increasingly looking for government action to help curb the leakage of disposable plastic waste. They aspire to a more systematic approach than the patchwork quilt of local and state responses currently seen across the United States.

The result of the existing system speaks for itself: plastic recycling has been an underachiever. The U.S. recycling rate for plastic was just over 8% in 2017 – roughly the same as in 2010. By comparison, an estimated 42% of plastic packaging waste was recycled in the European Union in 2017, up from 32.5% in 2010. So why are rates in the EU higher than in the U.S. and climbing more rapidly? According to the European Environment Agency, European gains have been at least partly driven by initiatives that take a systematic or circular approach to recycling and resource preservation. Let’s take a closer look.

EU regulations seek to close the loop

Chief among EU initiatives to promote recycling were EU targets introduced in 1994 and 2008 and later by the circular economy packages (2015). Current EU policy calls for:

– A minimum of 65 % by weight of all packaging waste must be recycled by no later than December 31, 2025

– A minimum of 70 % by weight of all packaging waste must be recycled by no later than December 31, 2030,

– A minimum of 50% of plastic by December 31, 2025

– A minimum of 55% of plastic by 2030.

An essential step for the European Commission has been the Circular Economy Package, aimed at “closing the loop.” As articulated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, “A circular economy is based on the principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.”

One point of significance from the circular economy perspective is that the goal is to keep materials at their highest state of utility. As such, recycling, even when achieved at a high rate, is still sub-optimal to reduction, reuse, and refurbishment alternatives. The EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy has established an ambitious program of action, with measures covering the entire cycle from production and consumption to waste management and the market for secondary raw materials.

U.S. regulations are a complex patchwork

While we see a systematic approach to plastic waste management in the EU, the United States, by comparison, has a complicated landscape of local and state initiatives. Jurisdictions scattered across the country have established bans or fees for commonly littered plastic items such as bags, carryout containers, and straws. To further muddy the waters, some states have put restrictions in place to prevent future plastic bag bans at the local level, essentially legislation aimed at banning bans.

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