ACC calls for global cooperation to end plastic litter

Addressing an audience of key stakeholders at the G7 Meeting of Environment, Oceans and Energy Ministers, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Washington, has shared its latest progress and commitments to help end plastic material in the environment. 

Keith Christman, ACC managing director of plastics markets, says U.S. plastics producers have committed to all plastic packaging being reused, recycled or recovered by 2040 with an interim goal of all plastic packaging being recyclable or recoverable by 2030. Plastics makers in Canada and Europe have set similar goals, helping to provide a consistent framework for a more circular, global plastics economy.

“U.S. plastics makers share a deep commitment to ending plastic waste and are working swiftly with our global partners to drive meaningful change,” Christman says. “Success will require innovations in design, new business models and developing the technology and infrastructure that will capture the full value of the plastics we use today so they provide our resources and raw materials for tomorrow.”

He emphasizes the urgent need for all stakeholders to find new ways to work together to stop the flow of trash into the ocean, citing multiple studies that point to expansion of waste management systems as the fastest and most effective way to solve this problem.

“Leading plastics producers are working together to facilitate investments and accelerate deployment of solutions where gaps in waste management are currently the greatest,” Christman says. “We are committed to driving positive and lasting changes in how we source, capture, use and reuse plastics to help protect our planet, clean up our oceans and enable people to live better.”

Since 2011, ACC has helped lead the implementation of a global declaration on solutions for plastic litter. Today, more than 75 plastics associations in 40 countries have signed on to the declaration and cumulatively they have undertaken 355 projects to help solve this problem.