Page 34 - Plastics News Issue November - 2024
P. 34
FEATURE NEWS
islators in encouraging EPR bills, she tells them plastics treaty, whose fifth and final meeting will
that everywhere people see plastic is an oppor- take place Nov. 25-Dec. 1 in South Korea.
tunity to recycle plastic.
In the near future, countries will begin to ratify
She went on to challenge the committee’s “De- the treaty, according to APR, and build out na-
mand Champions” working group to determine tional action plans including EPR schemes for
where they as an industry want to see more packaging. Problematic plastics will be phased
PCR – in what products and at what rates – be- out, there will be increased emphasis on design-
cause states are asking. And “this year, we’re ing for circularity standards and chemicals of
coming up with an answer” to that question, she concern will face more regulation.
said. “We want to go to states and say, ‘here is
what we would like to see as businesses on the There will be greater global harmonization of
ground.'” standards, and regulations, data and reporting
will continue to be at the forefront of the plastics
Global plastics treaty update industry, according to the APR presentation.
In a separate session, APR leaders provided Source – Plastics Recycling Update
their thoughts on what lies ahead for the global
Retailer-led changes
can shift single-use bag behavior
Reinvent the Retail Bag.
Part of the Consortium’s “Beyond the Bag” pro-
gram, the three-month pilot project tracked 160
retailers and more than 375 stores in Denver
and Tucson in 2023. The 5% reduction equals up
to 9.5 million fewer bags across the two metro
areas, “demonstrating the impact of supporting
customers at different stages of their journey to
reuse a bag or go without one,” the report said.
Retailer efforts included signs in the parking lot
and inside the store, encouraging customers to
hen retail stores encouraged con- bring a bag or go without one; verbal prompts at
sumers to bring their own bags or
Wopt out of using one, nearly 5% few- checkout, such as asking, “Do you need a bag?”
rather than automatically providing one; and a
er single-use plastic bags were used, according marketing campaign.
to a report from the industry-led Consortium to
34 PLASTICS NEWS November 2024
