Conversa de Lixo: O manual empresarial de falsas soluções para a crise do plástico

The document argues that the plastic industry uses a 'manual' of delay, distraction, and derailment tactics to protect profits and avoid mandatory regulations. It analyzes voluntary commitments from ten major polluters and over 50 collective initiatives, concluding that they lack transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. The report highlights how companies promote 'false solutions' like chemical recycling and bio-based plastics while lobbying against deposit return systems and mandatory collection targets. Case studies across 15 countries demonstrate a pattern of corporate hypocrisy, where companies may support legislation in the EU while fighting it in Africa, China, and the US.

• The plastic industry employs three primary categories of tactics to prevent progressive legislation: delaying (lobbying to protect the status quo), distracting (shifting blame to consumers or promoting superficial solutions like beach clean-ups), and derailing (influencing governments to weaken or create exemptions in laws).
• Voluntary commitments by the ten largest plastic polluters—including Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Unilever—are largely ineffective, lack independent verification, and are often used as 'paper promises' to generate positive publicity without achieving goals.
• Coca-Cola is cited as a primary example of failed commitments; despite a 1990 goal to use 25% recycled PET (rPET), its bottles still contained only 10% rPET three decades later.
• Collective industry initiatives, such as the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, focus on end-of-life solutions and recyclability rather than reducing production, while members continue to invest heavily in petrochemical facilities.
• The industry has leveraged the Covid-19 pandemic to argue against environmental legislation, using scientifically doubtful studies to defend single-use plastics and oppose deposit return systems.
• The report identifies 'chemical recycling' and bio-based, biodegradable, or compostable plastics as 'false solutions' that distract from the need for mandatory collection and reuse systems.
• Case studies reveal corporate hypocrisy, specifically noting that Coca-Cola supports some EU legislation while actively fighting deposit return systems (DRS) in Kenya.

APA

Tangpuori, A. D., Harding-Rolls, G., Urbancic, N., & Zallio, X. P. B. (2020). Conversa de Lixo: O manual empresarial de falsas soluções para a crise do plástico. Changing Markets Foundation. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash-Portuguese-ExecSum.pdf

Chicago

Tangpuori, Alice Delemare, George Harding-Rolls, Nusa Urbancic, and Ximena Purita Banegas Zallio. Conversa de Lixo: O manual empresarial de falsas soluções para a crise do plástico. Changing Markets Foundation, 2020. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash-Portuguese-ExecSum.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tangpuori |first1=Alice Delemare |last2=Harding-Rolls |first2=George |last3=Urbancic |first3=Nusa |last4=Zallio |first4=Ximena Purita Banegas |title=Conversa de Lixo: O manual empresarial de falsas soluções para a crise do plástico |publisher=Changing Markets Foundation |date=September 2020 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash-Portuguese-ExecSum.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tangpuori2020conversa, author = {Tangpuori, Alice Delemare and Harding-Rolls, George and Urbancic, Nusa and Zallio, Ximena Purita Banegas}, title = {{Conversa de Lixo: O manual empresarial de falsas soluções para a crise do plástico}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TalkingTrash-Portuguese-ExecSum.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }