Flanders in The New Plastics Economy

The New Plastics Economy is an initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation with the goal of creating momentum towards a circular economy for plastics. We coordinate the Flemish contribution to this project.

Plastics are developed to last forever even though they are designed to be thrown away.

The New Plastics Economy is an initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation with the goal of creating momentum towards a circular economy for plastics. We coordinate the Flemish contribution to this project.

Plastics have proved to be an indispensable workhorse as basic materials for our modern economy. Use has increased twenty-fold in the last fifty years, and this is expected to double again in the next twenty years. But 95% of plastic packaging is lost after a single use. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation wants to use the initiative to bring about change here.

The New Plastics Economy Initiative brings different stakeholders together to rethink and redesign the future of plastics. The initial focus lies on plastic packaging. Different ways of working towards less waste and more reuse of plastic packaging are incorporated into an intensive three-year programme.

Countering the fragmentation of initiatives

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation expressly opts for a systematic approach in which cooperation along the whole chain is the focus, from raw material manufacturers, to packaging manufacturers and users, to recycling companies. Philanthropists, public authorities, academics, students, NGOs, and the public are also working on the cause. It wants to use a specific approach to take large strides forward and counter the fragmentation of initiatives.

Pioneer Projects

One of the cornerstones of the initiative is the Pioneer Projects. These projects start immediately and are intended to exchange knowledge and quickly take steps together. The partners in the initiative are free to propose projects themselves. In this respect, the Flemish partnership has decided to propose QA-CER as a Pioneer Project at the assembly in New York in May 2017.