Plasticity Forum scrutinizes plastic’s life cycle

The third annual Plasticity Forum  took place in New York City on June 24, 2014, with a discussion on scaling design, innovations and features of a world with a reduced discarded plastic footprint. William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle, and CEO of McDonough Innovations,  declared the need to “redesign, renew and regenerate” when people think of the lifecycle of products. 

 

Pound-for-pound plastic has a value greater than steel, according to the event’s organizers, but it too often is treated as waste after its initial use. 

 

The Forum’s organizers say they hosted some of the world’s leading plastic innovators, entrepreneurs, designers and thought leaders within both business and government sectors to come together with the aim of finding profitable and creative solutions to reduce plastic’s global footprint.

 

Former President of Costa Rica Jose Maria Figueres said, “Even though Costa Rica is known for being one of the most eco-friendly countries in the world, we also have a big problem with managing waste and recycling. We need the collective work from the experts and participants of Plasticity to bring scaled solutions to both our businesses and countries to drive the opportunities that can be harnessed from treating waste as a resource.” 

 

Some of the research projects, developments and initiatives discussed at the Plasticity Forum included:

Jo Royle announced the launch of the Ocean Friendly Design Forum, which focuses on product design that enhances resource recovery and prevents plastics pollution in the world’s oceans.

 

“The Plasticity Forum in New York marks a new chapter in collaborative action between industry, governments and communities in banding together to scale solutions that can really drive mindset changes in how we perceive plastic in a new form, that of the resource that it truly is,” says Doug Woodring, founder of Plasticity and the Ocean Recovery Alliance, which runs the event. “By no means is this an easy challenge to address, but leaders at this event are some of the real trailblazers who know how to deliver solutions that we can all participate in, and benefit from, in our respective communities,” 

 

The first Plasticity Forum took place in Brazil during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 and the second was in Hong Kong in 2013.