ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: Creating a Plastics System that Works

Our ‘Big Ideas’ webinars are bringing experts together virtually to share insights and maintain dialogue with customers, business partners, sustainability experts, and others.

In partnership with the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), Amcor’s vice president, sustainability, David Clark, hosted ‘Creating a Plastics System that Works - Amcor and the Value Chain’.

The event brought together experts from CGF, The Recycling Partnership, waste management company Veolia, and Canadian retailer Loblaws to unpack how each element of the plastics system can drive up recycling and accelerate towards the 2025 global commitment.

Ignacio Gavilan, CGF’s Director of Environmental Sustainability, talked about the new Plastic Waste Coalition of Action. The Coalition brings together CEOs of 56 global consumer goods companies (including many Amcor customers) to promote a different approach to plastic use - from production, consumption and reuse to recycling and disposal. Ignacio emphasised that no one organization can fix waste leakage alone. Collaboration and harmonisation – between companies, markets and governments – is needed to effect systemic change.

CGF’s Coalition is promoting shared design guidelines that bake-in recyclability and circular end-of-life. They are encouraging the optimisation of EPR schemes to ensure fairness, cost-effectiveness and efficacy to stimulate the development of advanced recycling.

Amcor’s chief commercial officer, Michael Zacka, described the company’s approach to reducing waste and promoting recyclability – using its global reach and experience across multiple sectors and segments to drive innovation. Michael explained that there will always be a role for packaging in keeping products safe and fresh and that consumer expectations around the sustainability of packaging continue to increase. The answer is ‘responsible packaging’ – made from recycled content wherever possible, designed to be recyclable or reusable always.

Amcor has committed to reduce its use of virgin plastic by 200,000 tonnes and is working with iconic brands, such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise to create bespoke, 100% recycled packaging solutions that deliver great quality for consumers. Michael also spoke about Amcor’s partnership with organisations such as CEFLEX and The Recycling Partnership to validate and verify our innovation approach to improving packaging sustainability.

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Richard Kirkman of Veolia – a global company that manages water, energy and waste – talked about the ‘four stages’ of waste management. Initially, waste was a problem because of the impact on health and so cities focussed on moving it out of population centres. Over time this approach has evolved – focussing on pollution, then the cost of landfill, and now (in more advanced markets) circularity and sustainability. Richard said COVID-19 has not reduced the importance of the push to circularity and outlined four levers for driving that change:

Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling partnership, picked up that final point and reinforced it strongly from the perspective of an NGO operating primarily in the US. The gap between consumer aspirations around recycling and their behaviour is driven by a lack of appropriate infrastructure (such as recycling bins), by variation in recycling schemes, and by a lack of consumer education.

In the US, local authorities spend an average of just one dollar a year, per household, educating residents on the recycling opportunities available to them. The Recycling Partnership has provided 700,000 US households with access to recycling over the last six years but, Keefe explained, what is required now is systemic change to improve access and understanding.

Ian Gordon of Loblaw, Canada’s leading supermarket chain, echoed the call for a systemic approach. He acknowledged that Loblaw is responsible for around 10% of Canada’s plastic waste and outlined their commitment to driving that down by identifying means to reduce plastic use, reuse packaging, recycle at end-of-life and also to reframe the conversation with consumers.

Loblaw has made incredible progress, cutting millions of plastic clothes-hangers from their supply-chain for example. But Ian was keen to reinforce the message that while retailers can be drivers of systemic change, they cannot deliver it alone. Across the whole value chain, commitment and action is needed.

The common themes that emerged demonstrate the progress made across the value and supply chain on the issue of plastic waste. All contributors pointed to the need for recyclability and reusability to be the focus of design and innovation. Each spoke about the need for harmonisation – both in terms of how we label products and how governments, at both the local and national levels, ensure consistency in recycling access and policy as far as possible. And all panellists agreed that whilst EPRs are an opportunity, the whole value chain needs to work with government to ensure these are fair, cost effective and work for consumers and manufacturers alike. In particular, the hypothecation of funds raised through such schemes – so that money generated is reinvested in recycling infrastructure and assets – is vital to their success.

Amcor’s Michael Zacka summarised the webinar: “It was great to hear the diverse perspectives of our participants and inspiring to see the extent of common ground between them – this bodes well as we all continue to make progress towards creating a plastics system that works.”

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