Our Vision.
Take a moment to pause.... and imagine. It’s 2040. Aotearoa New Zealand has changed; our systems are closed loops, our economy is circular.
Plastic is no longer ‘disposable’, but instead an economically valuable resource. A commodity that doesn’t make its way into landfills, waterways or pollute our whenua.
We design products to be circular from the outset. Using materials that can be recycled, composted or reused. With modularity to allow for repair and replacement. We have systems to ensure products are kept in use as long as possible. and recovered for repurposing or recycling at the end of a use cycle.
New ways of doing business exist, including new options for subscribing, leasing, sharing, buy-back and return of products, helping to reduce overall consumption and to improve circularity.
We are at the start of our journey to design New Zealand’s low-emission circular plastics economy. You can help us achieve this future.
Why is this important now?
The world is currently consuming 100 billion tonnes of materials a year, with only 8.6% of those used to their maximum value with circular recovery and reuse.
This is what is called the Circularity Gap. The more we design, make and produce products for a linear world — the greater this gap will become and the more emissions we will emit in the taking, making and using of virgin resources.
We can quite literally see the impacts of our linear economy in the amount of waste overflowing into our environment and within landfills throughout the world.
We have the opportunity to rebalance our world. By designing our products, packaging and systems to fit within our planetary boundaries we can shift the dial. Our transition to a circular plastics economy is an important part of this.
Who is responsible for this change? We all are.
When it comes to successfully creating a circular economy for plastics in New Zealand, all parties must play their part. From brands, manufacturers and design decision-makers, through to retailers choosing products to sell and support their shoppers’ choices, through to local and central government parties, and of course, through to those recovering and reprocessing materials at the end of each lifecycle.
Renew your inspiration and learnings –
Critical Design
Critical Design recycles and reprocesses coloured plastics in New Zealand and makes them into high value furniture, homeware and games.
Goblets Good to Go
Thanks to Globelet’s Good to Go reusable cups, 99% of music festivals in New Zealand use washable and refillable cups for drinks, which feature a QR code on the bottom for tracking.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
“Plastics are versatile materials but the way we use them is incredibly wasteful. We need a circular economy for plastics in which it never becomes waste or pollution" — Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Shape your plastics pathway.
Navigating complexities and juggling competing priorities can make it difficult for organisations to reshape how they use plastics. These steps are a simple guide to help you align your priorities, uncover the challenges to tackle and define your actions for more valuable change. We guide you to build your capability, define your impact, design your solution, and make it real.