Food Industry Giants Unite 250 Organizations Around The World To Solve Plastic Waste!

250 organizations, including major food and beverage companies, governments and packaging manufacturers, signed the Global Commitment for the New Plastic Economy, led by the United Nations and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

This commitment was made at the Ocean Conference held in Bali, Indonesia. The participating organizations will work to create a "new normal" for plastic packaging and a circular economy so that existing plastics will not become waste. At the same time, the aim is to eliminate the problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging used in the future by redesigning, innovating and adopting new delivery modes.

Organizations including Nestle, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Paula Liga, Unilever, Danone and Mars have signed the commitment, which has been recognized by the World Economic Forum, Consumer Products Forum and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The goals set by the Global Commitment will be reviewed every 18 months, and participating organizations will publish annual data on their progress to help drive momentum and ensure transparency.

The Global Commitment sets three preliminary goals to pave the way for a global circular economy:

(1) Eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and shift from one-off to reusable packaging.            (2) Innovation ensures that 100% of plastic packaging can be reused, recycled or composted easily and safely by 2025.           

(3) Plastics produced by recycling can be reused or recycled by increasing the amount of plastics and made into new packaging or products.

"Marine plastics are one of the most obvious and disturbing examples of the plastic pollution crisis," said Erik Solheim, head of the United Nations environment.     

"The Global Commitment of the New Plastic Economy" is the most ambitious set of goals we have seen in the fight against plastic pollution.

"It lists the steps that businesses and governments must take to find solutions to the root causes of plastic pollution, and we urge all those who are committed to solving this global problem to sign agreements."     

Alan MacArthur, founder of the Allen MacArthur Foundation, said: "We know that cleaning up plastic in beaches and oceans is crucial, but that doesn't stop the plastic tide that pours into the ocean every year. We need to move upstream to the source.

"The Global Commitment for the New Plastic Economy sets the boundaries, and businesses, governments and others around the world unite to create a clear vision of what we need to create a plastic recycling economy."     

"This is only one step in a challenging process, but it can bring great benefits to society, economy and the environment."

"I encourage all enterprises and governments to make further efforts to launch a competition to reach the top in the process of creating plastic recycling economy. This substance will never become waste or a form of pollution. "