Nº3: Plastic in the circular age

Understand how the plastics industry will operate in a more circular future.

Littering the mint plastic wrap on the street is not a problem just for the incorrect disposal. It is also because that plastic — which required a lot of energy to be produced — spent a very short while in use with the consumer and still ended up on the ground, as a potential polluter.

That small wrap will join many others disposed like that as trash, ending up in landfills, dumps and flowing into rivers, seas, and oceans. Waste and pollution that damages entire ecosystems.

Plastic is both eclectic and functional, but without proper care it can end up in the wrong places, especially if we stick to a linear logic of economy. A model that even ends up generating much loss of this material in the production chain in the industries.

With the Circular Economy, we can build a new plastic economy, in which the entire volume of this residue can be put to good use to do new things, preventing it from being deposited in the environment, and diminishing the exploitation of finite resources, such as, in this case, oil.

Now that you've learned about food in the Circular Economy (No.2: Food in the Circular Economy)…

...You are here

How about continuing the journey towards a circular future? (Click on the image and let's learn more about):

• Reuse, remanufacturing, and various types of recycling
• Waste return systems (plastics as input for plastics)
• Upgradeable products, ending "scheduled obsolescence"
• Design, "Physical Internet", replacement of products by services.

Keep Exploring

nº.1 What is Circular Economy?

nº2 Food in the circular era

nº4 Opportunities in a circular world

nº5 Cities of the future

The website’s Education section in the Circular Movement website has a lot more content that exemplifies, in an uncomplicated way, how circularity can change the way you eat, dress, where you buy things and how you consume, how you move around the city, and in what way you live within it. Visit our website!

Who are we?

The Circular Movement is a multisectoral initiative that brings together people and organizations committed to the transition from linear to circular economy through education and culture. Our collective mission is to disseminate knowledge on the Circular Economy, encouraging the sustainable development of new processes, products and attitudes for a waste-free world. Let's create a world without waste together!

Learn more about Circular Economy

If you're interested in getting more in-depth on this topic, visit Circular Academy, the first free Latin American course on circular economy for the general public. All of us, in partnership and collaboration, can make a difference in building a more circular planet.