Future of Plastics Programme

Description

The pervasiveness of plastic, a material integral to human lives, is unfortunately echoed by the omnipresence of discarded plastic. With an annual production exceeding 350 million tonnes, only a minority of these plastics are recycled, and many are persistent materials not intended for degradation.

Plastic pollution, evident globally on land and in the seas, is a direct consequence of the remarkable durability of modern plastics. Nonetheless, plastics are crucial for achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with applications in lightweight transport, water purification, high-performance electronics, food waste reduction, effective insulation, and essential medical devices.

Transforming the lifecycle of plastics towards a more circular model – one that eliminates waste through design for disassembly and re-use – holds the potential to address many of these issues whilst preserving the valuable contributions of plastic to the SDGs. Addressing the issues with current plastic production, use, and disposal necessitates transcending entrenched disciplinary boundaries and robust engagement with the manufacturing and end-user industries. This programme aims to assemble experts to innovatively address the technical, economic, and legal aspects surrounding a future plastic economy that bolsters, rather than hampers, the SDGs.

The intention is to develop new materials for application in those plastic sectors presenting significant challenges. This involves exploring the relatively unexamined concept of chemical recycling, where plastics are reduced to their base ingredients for re-use. This method could enable multiple recycling cycles for the same plastics without diminishing their beneficial properties. In the long term, the goal is to develop packaging that is both recyclable and biodegradable.

Alongside the new materials, an implementation roadmap will be developed to identify strategies for overcoming the market, regulatory, and societal obstacles to their broad adoption. The roadmap will be refined with input from stakeholders, including industry, NGOs, international bodies, and academia.

The primary objective is transitioning to a new plastic economy, where future plastics are fully recyclable and ultimately degradable. Implementing interventions to transform technology, law, social policy, human behaviour, and economics, as well as prototyping patented materials and products, will be vital to this goal. The vision is a future that mitigates environmental harm and pollution without sacrificing the manifold benefits that plastics provide.

Offers funding

No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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University of Oxford
Oxford

University of Oxford
Oxford