MOSCOW (MRC) -- Only 17% of assessed labels give consumers quality information to make informed recycling and purchasing decisions, said Canplastics.
A new report on recycling and sustainability labelling on plastic packaging has found only 17% of assessed labels give consumers quality information to make informed recycling and purchasing decisions. The report – from the UN Environment Programme, Consumers International, and the One Planet network – found that 20% of the 30 worldwide labels assessed were given a negative score by consulted experts, 17% were positive, and the rest received mixed or neutral results.
In response the report authors have created five global recommendations for action to engage business, policy makers and standard setters in creating better plastics labelling with the aim to make sustainability the easy choice for consumers.
Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact of plastic on the environment and want to reduce their use, the report said, but the information provided to them is often unclear, leading to reported confusion and mistrust. There is a lack of standardization and accountability with individual brands creating their own labels and claims without third party certification.
Globally, only about 9% of plastic waste has been recycled and about 12% has been incinerated. The vast majority ends up in landfill or leaks into the environment. This is far away from the global vision for plastics to be 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable. Rising public awareness and concern about plastics has encouraged businesses to increasingly communicate this information about their packaging. However, the information is not always clear or actionable for consumers.
A global, multi-faceted, multi-stakeholder approach is the only way to tackle a crisis on this scale. Better plastics labelling is a simple and powerful way to help consumers to buy more recyclable and recycled products and to dispose of them correctly.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC