The Circularity Gap Report, published by circularonline, outlines the scale of the problems we face in achieving circularity. It's a stark reminder that we are so far from a sustainable relationship with consumption. We are not on target to ever reach a circular economy, let. We 'cycle' - that is reuse, repurpose, recycle - just 8.6% of material. That means over 90% of our Earth's resources are being used in a linear, "take-make-waste" fashion.
The gap is getting worse. Since 2018, global circularity has decreased from 9.1% to 8.6%. It's an eye-watering statistic that should hit us all - we are simply not doing enough. We consume too much, reuse too little, recycle ineffectively, all whilst our global population increases.
How can Glenntex contribute to the solution?
1. Reducing virgin plastic consumption Our technology enables us to improve properties of plastics, such as strength or gas barrier properties. This allows us to take virgin plastic products that are used for these properties, reduce the amount of plastic required but retain the performance. Not only does this reduce the material requirement, it also allows us to explore other benefits such as light weighting.
2. Increasing Recycled Content
Recycled plastic has a lower energy consumption, and consequently lower carbon footprint, than virgin material. Using more recycled plastic is one of the major goals set out by corporates to address their net zero goals. But did you know that plastic degrades during recycling - commonly known as downcycling. By improving the material properties, such as strength, we overcome downcycling. This means we can take post-consumer plastic and use it in highly demanding applications that typically use virgin plastic instead.
3. Improve Recyclability According to this McKinsey report, 1 in 4 European recycling companies state they have significant challenges in sorting materials due to poor recyclability. Many industries are simply not creating plastic products with design-to-recycle approach. This means many different plastics are used, difficult to separate and hard to sort in mechanical recycling infrastructures. Glenntex can allow for certain products to reduce the number of plastics they use to one single nanocomposite. Instead of using several layers of co-extruded polyolefins for barrier properties, we could use one monoplastic that has the same performance but can be easily recycled at the end of life. We help you design products with recyclability and performance in mind.
If you'd like to learn more about Glenntex, check out our R&D page or get in touch at hello@glenntex.com