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Page added on April 6, 2016
Plastic, China and how to drive your brand into the circular economy
As our seafood gets overfished, and with a growing global population that consumes many more products and plastic, we are facing a growing waste challenge which may lead us to having an ocean that has more plastic than fish by 2050. Part of me believes this tragic result will come much earlier, due to the vast underestimation of the amount of illegal fishing that is going on in the world today and the lack of global capacity for recycling and waste management.
The other part of me believes that we will never reach this outcome, because we are moving into an era of greater corporate and community enlightenment which will propel technological solutions into existence in a way that we have not seen in the past. This complements the fact that we are finally starting to understand the vast importance of the ocean and need for proper fisheries management.
You also may have read reports in the past year about which countries are adding the most plastic pollution to the ocean, many of which are in Asia. We all have a waste issue, and simply because a country has a lot of land and buries it, or because they have ways to incinerate it, does not mean that it is efficient in “removing” those resource assets from the community. In countries that don’t have the full capacity to handle humanity’s consumption, it is estimated that over 40 percent of the world’s trash in the world today is burned, most of which is in open-pit scenarios, where toxins then get into the air and back into our environment.
Challenging times
So let’s fast-forward to a slowing economy in China, but one that is rapidly modernizing its methods of production, building new sectors that are leading on innovation, and even becoming robotic. Its resources are stretched, but oil prices are low and are likely to stay that way for some time due to the decentralized oil pricing that fracking has brought to the equation, as well as the economies of scale that are unfolding in the space of renewables, batteries, electric cars and the movement of smart money away from carbon-focused entities. This also poses a challenge for the recovery and re-use of plastic, versus cheaper virgin material which follows low oil prices, and for those hoping to reduce the waste impact.
Some of China’s provinces and companies, however, are moving into business operations that foster the growth of the circular economy, which means designing products that can be taken apart, re-blended or recycled so that waste is not an end result. This is complemented by the fact that the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF) recently signed on to the World Plastics Council, which also has a goal of reducing plastic waste in the environment. The issue is that many companies do not yet know how to obtain good quality recycled content for their supply chains, nor do the municipalities necessarily have the systems in place to provide it.
Now enter Western buyers into this equation — the brands from afar that have moved much of their sourcing to China and Asia, and which also are often trying to sell to these growing populations. These new countries and markets, however, have not had the capacity to recycle or handle the waste that is created along the way. Even Hong Kong, one of the wealthiest cities in the world, has not figured out how to efficiently recover its resources.
A win-win situation can be created, however, as Western brands begin to face greater challenges and demands of sustainability in their own markets, and are wanting to move up the value chain of brand reputation while giving back to the communities and populations they serve.
Enter enlightened buyers
Enlightened buyers can make an enormous impact in the world today, because they can cater to the demands, regulations and desires of their home markets. They can do this while greatly benefiting their sourcing countries if they start asking for materials and products that fit within the circular economy. An increasing number of suppliers in Asia and elsewhere want to be at the cutting edge of technology, recycled content and material management, but the enlightened buyers from abroad really can expedite the tipping point for the circular economy.
Their demand for high percentages of recycled content, for example, coupled with economies of scale for resource recovery, would mean that the circular economy can kick into gear, creating jobs, reducing waste, improving brand value and reputation and helping to stop the flow of material that reaches our waters, which today is a high percentage of plastic. The supply is there, but demand needs to be stepped up a notch or 10, and this is where the enlightened buyers can make a big impact for themselves, the communities they serve and in the nations they source from. If this can happen, we have a much greater chance of always having more fish in the ocean than plastic.
On this topic, the fifth annual Plasticity Forum will be April 27-28 in Shanghai, focusing on the future of plastic and where the leaders are going with design, innovation, materials, recycling and solutions for a world without the waste footprint.
12 Comments on "Plastic, China and how to drive your brand into the circular economy"
makati1 on Wed, 6th Apr 2016 8:26 pm
Recycling costs money. Cuts profits. Will not happen in any significant amount. The Ps has a lot of plastic recycling laws, etc, but still uses a lot of plastic an most goes into the trash. I do see a few men toting a big bag of plastic bottles to sell for recycle, but that is the exception, not the rule.
In the Us double/triple packaging with plastic that goes into the land fill is the rule. No refundable deposit containers, no requirement by supermarkets to not use plastic bags and to require shoppers to bring their own reusable bags (as they have here in Makati), no laws against plastic anywhere.
Greenbiz is just that another business to make money.
Anonymous on Wed, 6th Apr 2016 10:40 pm
The idea of blanket bans never get considered because that would actually address the root of the problem. Plastic IS the problem, how its made, how it degrades, how its disposed of. I am reminded of the stories about western cities became as clean as they currently are, as opposed to open air-disease pits they used to be. It wasn’t until the upper classes started dieing of water-borne diseases that we in the ‘west’, finally cleaned up our filthy urban centers.
In the same light, I suspect the only thing that would compel us to clean up the plastic problem is when someone like Bill Gates(or similar) chokes to death on a piece of plastic he ingests while eating on the of the last Blue-fin tuna’s. Or perhaps, when huge waves of empty coke bottles, old usb sticks, discarded toys start washing up on the hamptons, or ruin the beaches of their private islands.
For another example, Jew York city used to love ocean dumping of city trash, at least they did until dirty needles and all manner of unpleasantness starting washing up on the shores of NYC itself. That prompted a change, though the underlying problem, still remains.
Indust-civilisation only changes its ways, and often times only 1/2 heartedly at that, when it has no choice. Right now lots of people are aware there is a problem, but until it kills a few of, or severely disrupts the quality of life of the .001%,(you know the same ones that own the plastic and chemical plants), then change will mostly consist of public awareness raising exercises, rather than real action.
dooma on Wed, 6th Apr 2016 11:19 pm
In Oz, one state and one territory have a 10 cent refund on any bottle or can. For reasons only know to the other states, they will not adopt this model. This, despite fierce lobbying by environmental groups.
My mother is a classic case of flawed logic. She buys products from the supermarket that are extremely heavily packaged. She also buys what I call “instant landfill”, cheap products from $2 shops that break in a couple of weeks and get thrown out. This satisfies her urge to buy “stuff”.
It doesn’t matter how many times I tell her that buying something well built will last a lot longer and not create plastic waste. A perfect example is buying brass hose fittings instead of the $5 plastic ones she buys that blow apart every time she turns the tap on.
But, In her mind, as long as she is filling the recycle bin each fortnight, and she does easily, then she is saving the planet!
forbin on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 4:34 am
“This satisfies her urge to buy “stuff”.”
ah the female of the human species follows the natural laws of acquisition of her kind
but as the economy the humans made also depends on buying “instant landfill”
will they ever learn ?
Forbin
Go Speed Racer on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 4:36 am
The plastic bottles don’t belong in the ocean, they are fuel. Plastic bottles belong in a waste to energy incinerator. Unfortunately everybody is so fat and lazy, they too stupid to dump out the soda pop even if bottle is still full. Not good for incinerating the bottle.
Donald Trump wil solve all this by making America great again. To do this, he will take all the fat stupid people on welfare. Then a relatively empty America can be restocked with hard-working intelligent normal-weight foreigners.
Davy on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 7:04 am
We have a circular economy just the wrong kind. We are chasing our tail. We are even denying denial. We are living a lie that we can transcend nature. A green washed circular economy is denying denial. Denial at multiple levels of abstraction is what we are falling into. Greens are the worst because they are some of the smartest and brightest people. In effect their cleverness is cleverly deceiving itself.
At some point reality must be faced. For humans to face reality it is an acknowledgment of natural limits. We think we are doing that at some levels but we are not because we can’t. There is no leaving the ship we built and the ship is sinking. We can fantasize about 4 foot by 4 foot gardens and a spiritual return to nature but the problem is we are skipping the hard part and that is the process of getting to a new place. You can’t get to a “change” at the level of globalism except by leaving globalism. Leaving globalism must include a collapse.
Cake and eat it parties are nothing but Ponzi arrangements. Ponzi arrangements ALWAYS end in tears. We are a bubble species and always have been. The sooner we realize and except this the sooner we can get on with the ugly. It may be possible that we transition into a new type of human postmodern. We can evolve spiritually simply by acknowledging limits at ALL levels. This would mean control of population and lifestyle. If that sounds incompatible with capitalism and democracy that is because it is. The other inconvenient reality is a new postmodern human would have a population of less than 1BIL likely less than 500MIL
PracticalMaina on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 8:54 am
My state has an effective bottle deposit system. There was also considerable talk about charging 5cents per plastic bag at the grocery store. This is already in some of the citys and was supposed to be implemented state wide recently, but I am not sure what is going on with it.
Davy, “we can dream about 4 foot by 4 foot gardens and a spiritual return to nature….” Why are these things not attainable and in themselves getting to a new place? Even a small effort such as this, which could be done by a huge population, would have huge implications of teaching people about growing food, produce tons of food, increasing the amount of attention that is paid to where their food comes from and the waste in the supply chain. It also in itself would help these people return to nature, even if stuck in an urban area, because gardening is interacting with nature.
Davy on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 9:05 am
PM, where did I say they are unattainable? I am doing it myself and soon will have inaddition a 36×12 high tunnel green house with raised beds.
My comment is in regards to people like you that think these efforts will make a difference in a macro systematic sense. It has no chance, zero chance of making a difference at that level. It is a tree and forest thing.
Do it individually and it will make a difference at the community level if many people do it. The most important aspect of it is the education value but it will not save the status quo nor allow a transition to a green world. It can slow the decay and mitigate destructive change.
JuanP on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 9:23 am
Practical, I agree with your assessment of the importance of small scale food gardening. As a member of two community gardens, indoor gardener, wwoofer, farm coop volunteeer, Master Gardener in training, and someone who has built raised beds in parks, schools and homes for years, your comment resonated with me.
Yesterday I had a one year old girl I didn’t know pull four carrots from one of the plots, wash them, and start eating them right there. She was just walking through the park with her mom and grandmom and walked in the garden because I always leave the gate unlocked when I am there. I have experiences like this all the time and they are great.
My wife and I can produce a lot of food in a 4′ by 4′ bed using bio intensive systems like Square Foot Gardening, and most people have more space than that.
Growing earthworms and making organic worm castings is cool, too. We have reduced our trash significantly by composting and growing worms. By using compost, worm castings, Comfrey, and seaweed we can grow organic food locally with very few external inputs. Catching rainwater is another no brainer for those who can.
I can’t recommend it enough.
PracticalMaina on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 10:23 am
Davy, you did not say unattainable, my bad. I get what you are implying saying that it is a tree in a forest, but the dream of being self sufficient must start with a small scale effort. For many people the dream of self sufficiency may start by seeing a neighbor tend a small garden. You for example are building resiliency into your own life, which in turn has a positive impact on your neighbors ect. If your area is resilient enough you are no longer as vulnerable to the end of globalization. Small farms and locally minded people are good for a local community. If more people globally did this it would end BAU as we know it, because BAU as we know it spends billions on war every year, and tax revenue from a largely barter based economy is pretty low. The end of BAU means the end of not providing for yourself locally. This would in turn drive more people into self sufficiency, and the cycle would continue.
A forest comes from just a few trees and time to grow.
Davy on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 10:35 am
PM, sounds like a winner. Get the word out.
PracticalMaina on Thu, 7th Apr 2016 12:19 pm
JuanP square foot gardening is where it is at. A lot of commercial organic involves so much poly ground cover and every other resources needed for gardening, leading to a product that is not even the quality it should be, and is hugely expensive because it ends up having a high cost to the grower.
I want to try the three sisters gardening that the Native Americans used to use, I made a less than perfectly planned attempt at it last year, with pretty good success but not as good as I think it should have been.