Zooming in on the Global Commitment 2021 Progress Report

Is the FMCG value chain on track to phase out plastic waste? The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Lily Shepherd (programme manager, New Plastics Economy) speaks to Packaging Europe's Elisabeth Skoda about the implications of the 2021 progress report for the Global Commitment.

[rachelbarker]

I always find it interesting that when the GHGs for plastics are discussed the NGOs never discuss the GHGs saved through their use. E.g. no renewable energy technologies exist without plastics, replacements for plastic are all heavier and result in higher levels of fuel consumption - in fact plastics are the reason that our vehicles and planes are lighter and more fuel efficient than in the past. Plastics also enable many of the solutions for energy efficient buildings. Yes, we need to reduce our consumption of plastic (just like we need to reduce consumption of ALL resources), yes we need to ensure that the materials we use can be circulated. However, let’s stop trying to skew the argument in a way that creates unintended environmental harm if taken to its full extent. If we get rid of plastics we will have far greater climate challenges on our hands, we’ll be unable to communicate and would have a medical system from the dark ages when people died by the age of 40!