Beyond Recycling

The document asserts that plastics are fundamentally incompatible with a true circular economy because they rely on non-renewable fossil feedstocks and leach toxic chemicals. It warns that the term 'circular economy' is often used as greenwashing by the plastics industry to relabel waste management and burning as circular. The author recommends capping plastics manufacture and use by 2025, eliminating toxic chemicals in a new global plastics agreement, and prioritizing reuse and refill over waste management.

• Plastics are fundamentally incompatible with circularity because they are almost exclusively derived from non-renewable fossil fuel feedstocks and release micro- and nanoplastics and toxic chemicals into the environment over time.
• The concept of 'circular economy' has been distorted from its original pillars—protecting natural capital and eliminating externalized costs—and is frequently used as a greenwashing tool to justify the continued production of plastics and the use of burning or inadequate recycling.
• A genuine circular framework for plastics must prioritize non-toxic redesign for reuse, the protection of human rights for vulnerable populations, and the recognition that burning is not a circular process.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). Beyond Recycling. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Beyond-Recycling_One-Pager.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Beyond Recycling. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Beyond-Recycling_One-Pager.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Beyond Recycling |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Beyond-Recycling_One-Pager.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndbeyond, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Beyond Recycling}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Beyond-Recycling_One-Pager.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }