Transitioning to a Sustainable, Circular Economy for Plastics [Workshop Report]

The “Transitioning to a Sustainable, Circular Economy for Plastics” workshop, coordinated by the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) in collaboration with The Climate Pledge, brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss the current challenges and opportunities in transitioning to a sustainable, circular economy for plastics in the United States. Input from the workshop will be used to ensure the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Strategy for Plastics Innovation (SPI)1 evolves with the rapidly changing landscape. Presentations, panel discussions, and breakout sessions provided a framework for sharing information and building direct connections among stakeholders across the value chain. This document summarizes the content discussed at the workshop to provide an update on the state of plastic sustainability in the United States. The technological, regulatory, and economic landscape related to plastic use and recycling is rapidly changing. The focus of this workshop was to understand which metrics are being used to inform decisions related to plastic sustainability and circularity, as well as what technological gaps exist along the supply chain that would facilitate a more rapid transition to a more circular plastic economy. Key themes are discussed and may be used to identify opportunities where investments in research and development can most rapidly and substantially lead to decarbonization. The workshop was structured in three sessions focusing on the current plastic landscape, how it is changing, and plastics in the future. A common framework for discussion was established by the plenary sessions’ presentations and panels, followed by breakout sessions, which were a forum for participants to discuss challenges and opportunities. Breakout sessions further enabled cross-pollination between stakeholders from industry, academia, national labs, nonprofit organizations, and other organizations and helped to gather broad stakeholder input to identify overarching themes. The workshop discussions highlighted numerous challenges and opportunities for increased plastic sustainability and circularity. Several overarching themes emerged, including: • Harmonization: Inconsistent policies create a complex landscape for investment and alignment. The current variety of materials, product design, and recycling infrastructure limits the ability to recycle safely and economically. • Improved data, insight, and tools for assessing impact: There is a need for open data and metrics that are understandable, credible, actionable, and comparable to assess the impacts on human health and the environment. Sensitivity analysis should be included to verify whether options perceived as more sustainable align with real-world outcomes. • Expanded feedstock amount and quality: There is a need to increase recycling access, engage consumers, expand infrastructure, and explore novel collection solutions to increase plastic recycling. Improved sortation would benefit both mechanical and advanced recycling by better matching feedstocks with recycling technologies. • New business models: Innovations to expand reuse and refill as alternative to single-use applications, including insights into consumer acceptance, have potential to increase plastic circularity and reduce the demand for virgin material. • Material and recycling technology innovation: New recycling technologies and material developments (bio-based, recyclable, and biodegradable plastics) are needed to address currently unrecycled plastics. • Collaboration as a key enabler: Advancing technologies from small-scale demonstration through pilot scale and market implementation can be accelerated by partnerships between stakeholders across industry, academia, and government. The alignment of industry coalitions and pre-competitive collaborations around product design and systems development will facilitate the acceleration of innovations at scale. Additionally, direct insight from municipalities (rural and urban) should interface with research and policy development to support rapid adoption and integration.