Eradicating Plastic Pollution Globally by 2030

Abstract

A world without plastic packaging waste by 2030 is achievable. But it will require significant change. It will require consumers to be connected to the packaging they use. It will require a marriage between economy, ecology, and society. And it will require a monetary, ecological (i.e., carbon credit), and social value to be assigned to packaging that is currently disposed of all too easily. And finally, it will require “Uberization of waste management.” In this paper, a number of solutions and recommendations for creating a world without plastic packaging waste are presented – all are in harmony with the pace of change we are witnessing within the present age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) aka Industry 4.0. The study explores how the plastics industry in general, and Food & Beverage (F&B) industry in particular can adopt the recommendations, thus transforming the industry, and crafting entirely new customer value propositions. The findings from the yearlong qualitative study that commenced in 2018, in part were based on interviews of industry experts. They are condensed into nine strategic recommendations to help achieve the vision of a world free plastic pollution by 2030. The recommendations were chosen to be both achievable yet bold and strive to encourage all stakeholders to work collectively towards meeting the vision by 2030.