The US Plastics Pact is a voluntary initiative based on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's global commitment. This pact involves cooperation between businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations to drive the transition towards a circular economy for plastics by reducing waste, improving recycling, and redesigning plastic packaging. Previously...

​In recent years, there has been intensified efforts to address the issue of plastic waste as governments across the world are attempting to close the loop. Through this push for effective waste management, chemical recycling has become a promising solution, offering a new approach to tackle the challenges posed by traditional plastic recycling methods. B...

​At the end of 2023, the draft notice regarding the creation of a federal plastics registry was published in the Canada gazette for consultation. The Canadian government have stated that currently 4.4 million tonnes of plastic are thrown away annually, with only 9% currently recycled. The aim of the federal plastics registry would to be to allow the gover...

​Are you an exporter or a producer to Indonesian market? Be careful with your labelling making environmental claims because Indonesia has recently introduced a new eco-labelling criteria to promote environmentally sustainable practices across the country. The criteria, known as the SNI (Standar Nasional Indonesia or Indonesian National Standard) eco-label...

​With increasing numbers of countries starting to mandate the use of recycled material in plastic packaging (see our previous blog for more details), where will we get enough recycled plastic from?Mechanical: using heat and shear to convert waste material into recycled material of the same type;Physical (or dissolution): using solvents or other chemicals ...

​Across the globe we are starting to see more movement on mandatory requirements being established for post-consumer recycled content (PCR) to be included in packaging. With the likes of Sweden and a handful of the US states already having mandatory requirements in place, will it be long until we see more countries implement these requirements? With the...

​EPR legislation, SB54 or the Plastic Producer Responsibility Act, was signed by Governor Newsom into law on 30th June 2022. The bill requires that businesses in California take responsibility to pay for the cost associated with the recovery of materials they sell in the state.SB54 passing has kept the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, a plastics fee ballo...

With so much global focus on transitioning to a circular economy, the packaging industry continues to explore sustainable alternatives to typical virgin plastic resins. ​'Bio-plastics' and 'degradable plastics' have become a hot topic in packaging design lately. However, do you understand these concepts, and are you marking your packaging correctly?Bio-ba...

​Countries around the world are considering the best way to fund waste management. It is becoming increasingly common for governments to believe that producers should finance the significant majority of the costs of waste management - but should this be through a plastics tax or extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees - and what's the difference?Some...

Last week, the Lorax EPI team gave a workshop on global packaging EPR developments as part of the Sustainability in Packaging US 2021 Conference. Our presenters took some time to investigate the true costs of packaging extended producer responsibility on a per-capita and per-product basis as well as discuss major changes in worldwide EPR programs that wil...

​Following a few months of silence, the UK government has now published more information about the plastics tax. So what do we know about it?Following the publication of draft legislation ​on November 12th, we now know that some things have changed from the proposal contained in ​the March consultation (covered in a previous blog post).​ Key details tha...

In recent months and years, we have seen countries around the world consider banning or taxing certain plastic products, such as bags, plates and straws (we have covered Italy​, Turkey​ and France in recent blog posts). However, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused many to question the safety of reusable alternatives, with some bans being postponed or over...

​The Lorax EPI blog has focused a lot in recent months on the steps being taken by governments around the world (e.g. in France, China, Turkey and South Korea) to reduce plastic and other packaging waste. However, manufacturers and NGOs are voluntarily making commitments of their own. We recently discussed the launch of the European Plastics Pact, but w...

​The UK has launched a consultation on the finer details of its Plastic Packaging Tax, confirmed as going ahead in the Chancellor's Budget 2020 speech last week.​Some elements of the tax have been confirmed, and are not subject to consultation:The tax will be implemented from April 2022;It will be charged at a rate of £200 per tonne of plastic packaging m...

​Last week, the first regional Plastics Pact was launched in Europe. Governments and businesses from across the European Economic Area (EEA) have joined together to commit to reducing plastic waste and move towards creating a circular economy for plastics. Signatories of the European Plastics Pact commit to a number of shared goals, including:Designing a...

​Plastic is everywhere - in packaging, children's toys, furniture, and the houses we live in. The first fully synthetic plastic (Bakelite) was invented in 1907, and since then it has become a fundamental part of daily life in the Western world. Governments around the world are introducing legislation limiting or penalising its use (like ​Singapore, Chin...

​China has recently published details of its plans to significantly reduce plastic pollution within five years. ​ The new legislation will introduce bans on ultra-thin plastic bags and the production and sale of disposable PS foam tableware. Other products that will be affected include plastic straws, disposable...

​The UK Government is trying again to get its Environment Bill passed into UK law.The Bill introduces a wide range of measures, including the establishment of a new Office for Environmental Protection, changes to the current system of producer responsibility and the ability to impose charges for single use plastic items (e.g. disposable cups) in addition ...

​Governments around the world are passing legislation restricting or banning the use of certain types or forms of plastic. Many more countries are discussing doing so, and there are several voluntary initiatives worldwide to supplement existing legislation. Many of the bans and initiatives which have been in place for a while have resulted in significan...

​In Saudi Arabia, the Technical Regulation for Degradable Plastic Products applies to all disposable products manufactured from polypropylene and polyethylene plastics which are often used for a short time. The regulation stipulates that the products are oxo-degradable then bio-degradable, where plastic products used in the medical and food industries are...

​EPR legislation have been proposed in both Washington State and Indiana. If the Bills are passed, producers in the states will become responsible for the end-of-life packaging waste created from the products they place on the market. Washington StateIn Washington State, the Senate Bill 5397 would make producers responsible for the design and management ...

The UK Plastics Pact, brought about by WRAP, aims to create a circular economy for plastics. Through bringing together businesses from the entire plastics value chain with UK governments and NGOs, with the goal of overcoming plastic waste. Business members who are responsible for placing plastic packaging on the UK market are obligated to contribute a rep...

On 18th January, the Council of the European Union published the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment. The objective of this proposal is to prevent and reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, in particular the aquatic e...

On 24th October, the European Parliament voted to back an EU ban on throwaway plastics by 2021. Items such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks will be banned if approved by the Member States ministers at the next stage of talks. In addition, MEPs added oxo-plastics and certain polystyrenes to the to the ban proposed by the commission. Furthermore, ...

Over the last year we have seen the devastating effects of plastic pollution in the oceans on marine life through entanglement and ingestion. However, there are additional threats which are not so visible on the macroscale. Microplastics and chemicals in plastics are posing a potentially increasing and often unknown risk in the natural environment. In thi...

This week, 24 – 30th September, is the UK's 15th annual recycle week. This year's theme is: ‘Recycling. We do. Because it matters.' which aims to encourage the public to recycle more, by demonstrating the benefits of recycling items from all around the home. This year, plastic and recycling is very much in the spotlight, this is a great opportunity for bu...

At RWM this year we heard from Costa Coffee on how they are making sure that plastic lined take away coffee cups are being recycled. This is big news right now, consumers are more aware than ever of the environmental impacts of plastic and are turning against items such as single use take away cups. The Environment Audit Committee proposed a latte levy an...

The majority of Lorax staff attended RWM Conference 2018 after such a positive experience in 2017. We heard from countless waste and resources experts, consultants, members of advisory committees, NGOs and an inspiring MP. Key themes of the conference included global extended producer responsibility, plastic packaging and pollution, the future of EPR and ...

Earlier this year, the French Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition released their Circular Economy Roadmap (FREC) which is an operational transition from a linear ‘make, consume, throw' economic model to a circular model that integrates the entire product life cycle. This covers ecodesign, management of waste, consumption and reduction of wast...

In an effort to move away from conventional plastic packaging, compostable and biodegradable packaging is making advances in industry. Plastics can be made from fossil based or bio-based materials and both of these can be used to make durable, non-biodegradable plastics or plastics which biodegrade or compost. Companies such as Vegware, an Edinburgh based...

Following the airing of David Attenborough's Blue Planet II, awareness of the global plastics problem​ increased drastically and plastics have become demonised. According to research by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in the past 50 years, plastic production has increased from 15 million tonnes in 1964 to 311 million tonnes in 2014 and is expected to doub...

Extended producer responsibility laws require producers to cover the cost of collection, recycling for the end of life of products they have placed on the market. However, some producers go above and beyond their responsibilities under the law to minimise their impact on the environment. These are just some of those industry heroes… IKEAIKEA have moved a...

On the 5th, 6th and 7th of June this year, the annual packaging waste and sustainability forum was held in Brussels. The days were filled with interesting talks from members of the European Commission, producers and retailers, industry representatives and producer responsibility organisations (PROs) who addressed topics such as the new EU recycling target...

In July 2008, the Product Eco-responsibility Ordinance (Cap. 603) was enacted as an umbrella legislation to put in place the shared core elements of all producer responsibility schemes (PRS) in Hong Kong. It outlines the fundamental regulatory requirements in respect of individual types of product, including operational details in the Ordinance and its su...

On the 22nd and 23rd May, edie held their energy, sustainability and resource efficiency conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. Their theme this year was mission possible: achieving a sustainable future. The conference was packed with exhibitions, advice clinics and a live theatre programme which was split into four areas: sustainabil...

Maharashtra, India's second most populous state is banning certain types of disposable plastic. A plastic ban has been introduced in the state through the Maharashtra Plastic and polystyrene Products (Manufacture, Usage, Sale, Transport, Handling and Store) Notification, 2018, which was published under the Maharashtra Non-biodegradable Garbage (Control) A...

Here at Lorax, in an effort to reduce our use of plastic, we took part in Plastikfasten. This involved aiming to give up or reduce the amount of plastic we use during the 40 days of Lent. As part of the challenge, we collected any plastic used in the office as well as collecting and weighing any plastic each of us used at home. When it comes to the weekly...

Recently, there has been a great deal of publicity concerning ocean plastic pollution. Plastic litter, which makes its way into rivers and coastlines, eventually becomes part of the five gyres in our oceans. These pieces of plastic can be ​broken down into smaller pieces by sunlight, waves and salt. Waterborne chemicals from industry agriculture can stick...

On the 8th March, the European Parliament published amendments to the Cohesion policy and the circular economy draft opinion​. ​​​​​The amendments include numerous changes and several new paragraphs concerning implementation of the circular economy in Member States and the impact of China's new restrictions. The amendments bring​ a focus onto the need fo...

Recently the Government has been called upon to take action on our societies throw away habits, with plastic water bottles and disposable coffee cups in the spot light. Despite the readily available alternatives, recycling rates have stalled, and our behavioural habits are yet to change. A new scheme set up by industry body Water UK aims to offer free wat...

In Turkey, The Regulation on Packaging Waste Control was published in the country's official gazette on 27 December and took effect on 1 January 2018. The new regulation details new recycling targets, changes to EPR and will introduce a charge on plastic bags from 1st January 2019, prohibiting the distribution of free plastic bags. ​Under the revised regu...

Deposit return schemes add a small deposit on to the cost of drinks which is refunded to the consumer when the container is returned. Hence, the incentive for consumers to recycle their drinks containers is much greater. Containers, such as glass, can be refilled and other such as cans can be recycled, eliminating wastage of the containers. However, such ...

This week, 25th September to 1st October, is Recycle Week in the UK. This is the 14thannual recycling, this year with the theme of 'Recycling – It's Worth It!'. This week, organised by WRAP, aims to encourage the public to recycle more, by demonstrating the benefits of recycling from all around the home. Why recycle?Currently only 14% of plastic reaches r...

The RWM is an exhibition of four industry events – The Energy Event, The Renewables Event, The Water Event and RWM. Held in the National Exhibition Centre over 3 days, the event had six zones representing the Ene​rgy, Water and recycling and waste markets.RWM's Mission Statement:'RWM seeks to build a community for a resource-efficient future. We co...

There's a wealth of knowledge about the negative effect plastic waste has on the environment. This blog seeks to uncover what the problems are and how governments and industry can stop it from getting worse. The problemRecently it seems that we have been overwhelmed with devastating facts and figures concerning the negative impact of plastic waste on our...

Following on from our last blog CONAI: Plastic Packaging Reporting Changes here are the latest updates on packaging compliance in Italy and how you should be reporting for the remainder of 2017. We have outlined two major changes in the CONAI scheme and we now have further information on the details and reporting schedules required.As a refresher, CONAI w...

CONAI, the Italian packaging scheme, are making changes to their reporting requirements in 2017. The first amendment will be to diversify the environmental contribution for plastic packaging based upon the environmental impact it has. Plastic has been chosen as it is the most complex material in terms of variety of types, selection and recycling technolog...

In recognition of World Oceans day 2016, this month's blog is dedicated to all things plastic and the environmental solutions we can all contribute to lessen the amount of plastic waste ending up in our oceans. Because there's no two ways about it, plastic is polluting the ocean. World Oceans Day on 8 June aimed to raise awareness of the impact that plast...