Discover Eastman’s Six Principles Driving Innovation - Seite 2

Our six principles for the circular economy outline these parameters and can serve as a guide for the industry and policymakers to help propel closed-loop recycling and reduce environmental and social consequences of the material industry.

These principles can be easily summed up like this: "Reduce, reuse and recycle" is only the beginning. Material-to-material recycling improves quality of life, is a complement to mechanical recycling and should be economically viable and transparent.

Imagine the positive impact if policymakers support this approach and the industry adopts these principles. We believe it will greatly improve the state of the material and recycling industry and, ultimately, the state of the planet.

The role of consumers

According to our 2023 Consumer Insights Report, millennials and Gen Z care deeply about the waste crisis. In fact, 83% say they're very concerned about the increasing amount of plastic waste headed to landfills or being incinerated. And 79% are concerned about single-use plastics. But a similarly high amount (70%) aren't convinced that the items they place in the recycling bin are actually getting recycled, and 65% express confusion about what can be recycled.

That's not great news. Even though the desire to recycle is strong, it's clear that the recycling system itself is instilling doubt and confusion, impacting recycling behaviors and, ultimately, the amount of waste we're capturing to create a circular economy.

But to improve the system, we need everyone to keep recycling. According to Rubicon, 75% of our waste is recyclable, but Americans are only recycling 30%. And roughly 80% of the items buried in landfills could be recycled. Those are staggering statistics.

Although there are challenges with our current processes, 69.1 million tons of material waste was recycled in 2018. And the industry is moving quickly to improve and evolve the system to make it more effective. By continuing to recycle, consumers are diverting valuable "waste" from the landfill and helping these materials enter back into the circular economy. Because, with the capabilities of molecular recycling, it's only waste if you waste it.

The role of companies

Brands and companies also have a critical role to play. As companies continue to set, strive for and reach their recycled content goals in packaging and products, the demand for recycled content will continue to grow. But alongside that, we need consumers to trust that the system works so that they continue to recycle.