Amcor commits to diminish plastic waste

Packaging company Amcor has joined a global commitment to eradicate plastic waste and pollution from plastic packaging. Amcor Chief Executive Officer Ron Delia signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment at the Our Ocean Conference in Bali, Indonesia.

Sponsored by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme, the commitment has been signed by 250 global brand owners, retailers, non-governmental organisations and policymakers. Participating companies represent 20% of all plastic packaging produced globally, including Danone, L'Oréal, MARS, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company and Unilever.

Dame Ellen MacArthur, Founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, said: “We know that cleaning up plastics from our beaches and oceans is vital, but this does not stop the tide of plastic entering the oceans each year. We need to move upstream to the source of the flow. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment draws a line in the sand, with businesses, governments and others around the world uniting behind a clear vision for what we need to create a circular economy for plastic.”

Commitment targets include: eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and move from single-use to re-use packaging models; innovate to ensure 100% of plastic packaging can be re-used, recycled or composted by 2025; and circulate the plastic items produced to keep them out of the environment.

The second target was already announced by Amcor in January, when it became the first global packaging company pledging to make all its packaging recyclable or re-usable by 2025.

Targets will be reviewed every 18 months, and Amcor will publish data in its annual Sustainability Review to illustrate progress.

"Plastic packaging is vital for products used by billions of consumers around the globe," said Delia. "It's highly effective and easy to adapt, so that those products are safe, nutritious and effective.

"We're constantly innovating to make plastic packaging even better, including in protecting the environment."

Last month, the company announced a flexible-plastic film that provides high-barrier protection, can be used in sterilised packaging and is recyclable.

Image credit: ©kanvag/Dollar Photo Club