The linear economy, of which plastics packaging value chain is an iconic example, is ripe for disruption. Without a doubt, plastics bring many benefits, and the economy as we know it would not be able to work without them. But it is becoming increasingly evident that the current, linear plastics system is broken (Figure 1). Globally, only 14 percent of plastic packaging is collected for recycling, with even less actually making it back into applications. This means that money is being left on the table—$80 to $120 billion worth of plastic packaging material is lost to the global economy each year.
The system’s environmental toll is heavy and increasing exponentially. A staggering one-third of all plastic packaging escapes into the environment, a rate so high that by 2050 there could be, by weight, more plastic than fish in the ocean. The rest is either landfilled or incinerated, resulting in further risks to human health and the environment. The total negative impacts of the linear plastics system are hard to quantify, but a conservative estimate from UN Environment valued them at $40 billion a year—more than the industry’s profits.