World Environment Day: How to beat plastic pollution This World Environment Day, discover 8 groundbreaking innovations tackling plastic pollution—from AI-powered recycling to river waste capture and biodegradable plastics
Survey reveals why people don’t recycle more | World Economic Forum A lack of programmes and services is the top barrier to greater recycling uptake, a global sustainability survey shows Globally, 64% of people feel personally responsible for acting on climate change But many said recycling was either inconvenient, or they lacked trust in recycling programmes People around the world think choosing products with reusable packaging is the most adoptable zero
Accelerating reuse models to achieve a world free of plastic waste The World Economic Forum’s Consumers Beyond Waste initiative is driving a shift towards reuse models to achieve a world free of plastic pollution Half of global plastic production is for single-use and only 9% of plastic is recycled; reliance on recycling alone will not solve the waste problem To accelerate reuse adoption, the initiative released a seminal guide on standardized measurement
How innovation will jumpstart lithium battery recycling Too many lithium-ion batteries are not recycled, wasting valuable materials that could make electric vehicles more sustainable and affordable There is strong potential for the battery recycling market to grow and supply a large portion of current market needs The private sector must jumpstart battery recycling at scale by investing in innovation
Recycling alone wont solve the plastic waste crisis Recycling plastic is not enough to beat the global waste crisis - we need more new ways to make food packaging, including using more compostable materials
Why is black plastic packaging so hard to recycle? Black plastic is recyclable, but waste sorting systems can’t recognize black pigments Even if black plastic is separated, it often ends up in landfill Major UK supermarkets have pledged to stop using black plastic for their own product ranges
‘Wishcycling’: the dos and don’ts of recycling | World Economic Forum ‘Wishcycling’ is contaminating the recycling system Our well-intentioned acts of recycling may actually be slowing the move to a circular economy More than half of people in the US believe that “most types of items” can be recycled Every year, staggering amounts of recyclable waste are exported by wealthy countries to the developing world The World Economic Forum is backing