Removing plastics from global supply chains won’t happen overnight, but for now there are encouraging signs that renewable alternatives can increasingly replace plastics in a large range of applications
When it comes to eliminating plastics from the global supply chain, tomorrow is always just over the horizon. But thinking about the problem this way commits the error of imagining it as a huge goal – the attainment of some distant utopia. It also overlooks the many measures that can be taken to mitigate our level of reliance on plastics in the here and now.
According to Material Economics, a management consultancy specialising in sustainability, 25% of plastics used in packaging in Europe could be replaced with renewable alternatives without significant compromise on functionality. There is also the burgeoning possibility of shifting away from fossil-based plastics to bio-based alternatives at scale.
