Plastic waste is polluting the world’s marine environment. In the Baltic Sea, about 70 percent of marine litter is plastic. Globally, up to 13 million tonnes enter the seas every year, leaking from landfills or deposited directly from ships or beaches.
Finland recycles about 25 percent of its plastic waste. It is also committed to complying with EU Waste Directive objectives. 50% of the country’s plastic packaging should be recycled by 2025 and 55 percent by 2030.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which supports innovations for the circular economy, has reported that we are losing 95 percent of plastic’s value because we are not recycling it but burning it or disposing of it in landfills.
Finland is a high performer in terms of innovations. For example, energy company Fortum has an efficient mechanical recycling plant, and Fenergy has developed a chemical recycling plant. Finland also excels in terms of products. Jospak won the WorldStar 2019 Gold Sustainability Award for its food packaging solution, combining recyclable plastic film with cardboard.
VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland, has carried out extensive research into chemical recycling. Sitra itself was involved in drawing up a Plastic Road Map in 2018, giving the issues a higher priority, covering every angle of plastic recycling, and involving stakeholders in discussions about how to improve, collaborate in, finance, and develop solutions. The Ministry of Environment is promoting voluntary Green Deal initiatives. One example could be encouraging cafés and restaurants to introduce incentives for using less plastic.
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