Is Reuse the New Recycling?
Channel: be Waste Wise
Date: 2021-07-12

In 2019, a business that hands out 2.5 million straws and 30 million spoons each year admitted, "We're not going to recycle our way out of this problem; we, and the rest of the world, need to get out of single-use plastic." This response from Jenna Evans, Ben and Jerry’s Global Sustainability Manager, is typical of many companies grappling with how to reduce their impact. Recycling has failed to solve their issues, and they are turning to more progressive models such as refill, reuse and the sharing economy.

In this webinar, we explore the role of sharing and reuse in reducing our reliance on single-use items such as takeaway food and drink and e-commerce packaging. We will demonstrate how moving up the hierarchy from downcycling to retaining products in use is both financially and environmentally preferable to recycling in many applications. We look at two emerging solutions filling the need of brands and businesses to ‘do more with less’, prevent waste at source and educate consumers into the circular economy. New markets are opening fast. Post-Covid, the reuse flood gates are set to open. Are we ready?