The U.S. Plastics Pact is launched as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact network. It is a collaborative led by The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The U.S. Plastics Pact is an ambitious initiative to unify diverse public-private stakeholders across the plastics value chain to rethink the way we design, use, and reuse plastics, to create a path toward a circular economy for plastic in the United States.
Collaborative Action to Deliver Significant Change
U.S. industry leaders recognize that significant, systemwide change is needed to realize a circular economy for plastic. The U.S. Plastics Pact brings together companies, government entities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), researchers, and other stakeholders in a pre-competitive platform for industry-led innovation.
The U.S. Plastics Pact will drive collaborative action and deliver a significant system change toward a circular economy for plastic, enabling companies and governments in the U.S. to collectively meet impactful goals by 2025 that they could not otherwise meet on their own.
“
Together, through the U.S. Plastics Pact, we will ignite systems change to accelerate progress toward a circular economy. The Recycling Partnership undertakes collaborative action with other industry leaders to create substantial, long-lasting change for the betterment of our planet. The results from the U.S. Plastics Pact’s efforts to advance packaging, improve recycling, and reduce plastic waste will benefit the entire system and all materials,” says Sarah Dearman, VP of circular ventures for The Recycling Partnership.
In line with the Ellen McArthur Foundation’s vision of a circular economy for plastic, which unites more than 850+ organizations, underpinned by common definitions and concrete targets, the U.S. Plastics Pact brings together plastic packaging producers, brands, retailers, recyclers, waste management companies, policymakers, and other stakeholders to work collectively toward scalable solutions tailored to the unique needs and challenges within the U.S landscape, through vital knowledge sharing and coordinated action.
More Than 60 Activators Join Initiative
As of today, more than 60 Activators – including for-profit companies, government agencies, and NGOs – have joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, representing each part of the supply and plastics manufacturing chain. By joining the U.S. Plastics Pact, Activators agree to collectively deliver these four targets:
- Define a list of packaging to be designated as problematic or unnecessary by 2021 and take measures to eliminate them by 2025.
- By 2025, all plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
- By 2025, undertake ambitious actions to effectively recycle or compost 50% of plastic packaging.
- By 2025, the average recycled content or responsibly sourced bio-based content in plastic packaging will be 30%.
Results of measurable change in each of the target areas and transparent reporting are key outcomes of the U.S. Plastics Pact. Progress of the U.S. Pact will be tracked through WWF’s ReSource: Plastic Footprint Tracker, which provides a standard methodology to track companies’ plastic footprints and publicly report on their plastic waste commitments each year. The report will be made publicly available each year.
To maintain continual and effective collaboration, the U.S. Plastics Pact will seek guidance from a robust Advisory Council, made up of 10 Activator organizations, companies, and governments. Those included in the Advisory Council are:
Amcor, Balcones Resources Inc., Austin Resource Recovery (City of Austin, TX), Eureka Recycling, Grove Collaborative, Mars, Incorporated, Target, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever United States, and Walmart, Inc.
Source: The Recycling Partnership