‘ReShaping Plastics: Pathways to a Circular, Climate Neutral System In Europe’ presents an evidence-based roadmap for a paradigm shift in the European Plastics system.
Commissioned by Plastics Europe, this report aims to help guide policymakers, industry executives, investors, and civil society leaders as they seek to understand the trade-offs and navigate through a highly contested and complex terrain toward a circular Europe plastics system.

Flexible packaging is the fastest-growing plastic packaging category. Because it is almost uniformly single-use, with very low recycling and high leakage rates, it is also by far the most challenging market segment to address on the journey towards a circular economy for plastics.
This work aims to support organisations in achieving their circular economy for plastics goals by providing a practical direction forwards for flexible packaging.
Note: the below file is the executive summary. To view all chapters, visit the report page on the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s website.

This project aims to gather data on the flows of single-use cups and on-the-go fibre-composite food packaging placed on market and recycled in the UK. It also aims to identify options for managing these items to help reduce the environmental impact of single-use cups and on-the-go fibre-composite food packaging, including an assessment of potential policy measures.

This paper outlines the problems with the way UK greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories are reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Currently, emissions associated with waste treated through incineration are reported under the ‘energy’ inventory instead of ‘waste’.
Any emissions reductions delivered by waste recycling are also omitted, listed under the ‘industrial production and product use’ section. Defra’s reporting therefore only reflects what is reported to the UN under the ‘waste’ section – currently limited to emissions associated with landfilling and composting, with the former accounting for the majority of emissions.

Speaking at the IEA Technology Collaboration Programme webinar on the circular bioeconomy on 16 February, BBIA Managing Director David Newman highlights the need to align policies with ambitions.

This paper examines several strategies published by the UK Government since 2017, which relate to bio-based and compostable plastic. BBIA underlines the apparent strategic support for the production of bio-based materials in the UK and for the separate collection and treatment of certified biodegradable/compostable products post-consumption, highlighting the significant development of the industry in the UK since 2017 including as a result the funding for research, driven through UKRI.
BBIA finds, however, that the transposition of strategic direction into policies is often contradictory and detrimental to the bio-based and biodegradable industries sector. Policies so far, since 2020, have been implemented which either disregard Government strategies or are announced that intend to over-turn Government strategies. BBIA calls upon Ministers, the Civil Service and Parliamentarians, to respect the strategic trajectory laid down by Governments since 2017 when implementing policy decisions, thus supporting the industry and kick-starting major investments into the UK economy.

Composted Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) is used in agricultural soils as a source of organic matter and nutrients. Besides, its use avoids landfilling or incineration following the principles of circular economy. It is well established that source-separated OFMSW is suitable for compost production, but its quality depends on their content in non-compostable materials.
This study selects and examines the final refined compost from five OFMSW facilities over a five-month period, the results suggesting that the use of compostable polymers and the implementation of door-to-door collection systems could reduce the concentration of plastic impurities in compost from OFMSW.

The report assesses the U.S.contribution to plastic production and waste generation, the mechanisms that move plastics from land into
aquatic environments, and the distribution and fate of plastic waste entering the ocean. It recommends a national strategy for reducing the U.S. contribution to global ocean plastic waste, lays out a vision for a national marine debris tracking and monitoring system, and identifies priority knowledge gaps that are used in the national strategy along with the tracking and monitoring system.

This science note aims to set out the importance of carbon in soils, how it behaves, and the role it plays in supporting soil functions, delivering vital public goods and services, and helping societies adapt to and reduce the rate of climate change. It also strives to raise awareness of the main issues surrounding soil carbon and the actions that governments, communities and individuals can take.