Brands, packaging producers and other stakeholders gather in Barcelona to discuss sustainable packaging; current focus on increasing recycling, but packaging reduction and reuse are the mid-term aims; chemical safety only touched upon briefly
Report for policymakers on reusable solutions
Rethink Plastic Alliance publishes report aimed to inform policy makers at national level on effective implementation of reuse systems to eliminate single-use plastic pollution, implement EU directive
Questions surround French deposit scheme
Pending introduction of a deposit-return scheme for bottles in France raising questions by stakeholders; applicable materials, functioning, and cost distributions not yet clear
Book about reuse
Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative launches book about reuse; outlines reuse framework, identifies 6 major benefits of reuse to business and consumers, gives 69 reuse examples
Loop launches in the U.S.
Circular packaging platform launches in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., announces Kroger and Walgreens as first retail partners and aims to expand to further regions
Call for binding packaging quotas in Germany
German NGOs and industry associations urge national government to introduce binding quotas for reusable beverage containers; say national target of 70% by 2022 will not be achieved unless progressive steps introduced, discount stores adapt, consumer habits change
New Plastics Economy: Global commitment report
New Plastics Economy initiative of Ellen MacArthur Foundation launches its first Global Commitment report detailing industry and government progress on tackling plastic pollution
Loop to promote reusable packaging
Loop concept aims to enable provision of common consumer goods in reusable packaging; pilot schemes to operate in selected U.S. and European regions in spring 2019