How businesses can tackle the plastics problem

The author advocates for replacing 'throwaway culture' with a circular economy based on reducing, reusing, recycling, and rethinking materials. Using plastics as a primary example, the text argues against banning the material, suggesting instead that human behavior must change and technological investment in sorting and recycling must increase. The document highlights specific corporate examples of circularity, such as Carlsberg's Snap Pack and recycled films, Plastix's conversion of fishing gear into 'Green Plastics', and Lendager Group's upcycling of beer kegs. It identifies a significant gap in knowledge and capabilities among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and calls for cross-sector partnerships and co-financing to help these businesses implement circular business models.

• The circular economy aims to replace a 'throwaway culture' with a model where resources remain in a closed circuit through reducing, reusing, recycling, and rethinking, ensuring that materials retain their value and nothing is classified as waste.
• Regarding plastic pollution, the author argues that banning plastics is illogical because the material is uniquely suited for reuse and recycling; instead, the focus should be on improving sorting, investing in recycling research, and addressing human behavior.
• Several companies demonstrate circular plastic applications: Carlsberg has implemented 'Snap Pack' glue technology and recycled plastic films with 50-100% recycled content in Denmark and Sweden; Plastix transforms fishing nets and ropes into 'Green Plastics', reducing CO2 emissions by up to 82%; and Lendager Group's UP division upcycles old beer kegs into tables.
• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face barriers to adopting circularity due to a lack of knowledge, skills, and networks, as their existing cultures and partnerships are rooted in linear business models.

APA

Besenbacher, F. (2019). How businesses can tackle the plastics problem. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/circular-economy/how-businesses-can-tackle-plastics/

Chicago

Besenbacher, Flemming. How businesses can tackle the plastics problem. World Economic Forum, 2019. https://www.weforum.org/stories/circular-economy/how-businesses-can-tackle-plastics/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Besenbacher |first1=Flemming |title=How businesses can tackle the plastics problem |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=29 June 2019 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/circular-economy/how-businesses-can-tackle-plastics/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{besenbacher2019how, author = {Besenbacher, Flemming}, title = {{How businesses can tackle the plastics problem}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/circular-economy/how-businesses-can-tackle-plastics/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }