How Designing for Circularity Can Help Eliminate Plastic Waste
The topic of plastic is divisive. Some see plastic as one of the quintessential enablers of modern society and a key material that will help usher in a more sustainable future. Others see it as a relic of an era too focused on profit over planet. Regardless of where you stand, we can all agree on one thing – plastic waste has no place in the environment.
Enter the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, or INC, developed as the result of a UN Environment Assembly resolution in 2022. Over a series of five high-intensity meetings hosted at various locations around the world, the INC unites governmental negotiators and other international stakeholders to end plastic waste through the development of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. The fourth meeting, INC-4, is taking place April 23-29, 2024, in Ottawa, Canada.
I have the honor of representing Covestro and advocating for our stakeholders at several meetings in association with INC-4. At the top of my agenda are two important topics. First, that the value derived from the materials that Covestro produces is recognized. Sustainable technologies, from wind blades to lightweight electric vehicles, among countless other items, are made possible by Covestro materials. Second, that the positive impact plastics bring to society are not eclipsed by the desire to eliminate plastics altogether as a means to ending plastic waste. Throughout INC-4, it is important to reiterate that ending plastic waste does not mean ending plastic.
The goal of the INC meetings is to eliminate plastic pollution, and the best way to do so is through a circular economy.
A circular economy is much more than recycling. It creates an ecosystem in which plastic is viewed as a valuable resource that is used over and over again, and one in which the products plastics make possible are reused, repaired and recycled. It does not simply address the, “what do we do with this when we are done with it?” question. Fundamentally, it changes the mindset of how and why we use the materials we do, including plastic, from the initial design to the end of its use, and its eventual reuse.
It requires a design for circularity mindset. It requires ensuring that when a product is produced, its reuse is already planned. This can take many shapes, such as reusing a car, appliance or life-saving medical equipment. It can also mean thinking about the materials we choose to produce products. Covestro believes that both alternative raw materials and advanced recycling have a role to play. Using alternative raw materials, such as recycled content, in feedstocks to replace fossil fuels is essential. Equally as important is advancing recycling technologies, such as chemolysis – chemical recycling – to complement existing mechanical recycling so that recycled feedstock is readily available. These are the sorts of considerations that must be evaluated when embracing circular design.
Covestro takes designing for circularity very seriously. So much so, that in addition to applying circular design thinking to the thousands of applications for our materials, we actively collaborate with experts with unique perspectives. A circular economy is complex, and it requires an understanding that needs to be carried forward far beyond today. That is why Covestro and the University of Pittsburgh have developed the Covestro Circular Economy Program – a graduate level program focused on designing for circularity.
The goal of the Covestro Circular Economy Program at the University of Pittsburgh is to educate the next generation of circular thinkers and provide them with the foundation to create new circular product and service solutions. Essentially, to help develop the very people who will be tasked with carrying out the guidance set forth during the INC meetings.
In the context of the broader plastic waste discussion and the INC meetings, it is precisely this forward-looking view of circularity that must be applied to the discussions taking place now. Governments, industry and all the stakeholders in the discussion must let circular thinking guide their strategies for tackling plastic waste.
I am encouraged by the open dialogue and creative solutions put forward, but there is more work that must be done. INC-5 is set for November 25th through December 1st in Busan, Korea. We must continue to bring the momentum forward as we design an international legally binding instrument that is tailored to the varying needs of governments around the world, while keeping circularity central to the solution.