Sustainability Report 2016 / 2017

25 Initiative Frosch Plastic as Material vs. Ocean Trash At the World Economic Forum in Davos in early 2016, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation brought to light a worldwide problem for which the Werner & Mertz Recyclate Initiative is developing promising approaches. The current study by the Ellen MacArthur Foun- dation “The New Plastics Economy” caused a stir with its claim that the amount of plastic waste in the world’s oceans is expected to quadruple by the year 2050 – at which time more plastic than fish will be swimming in the sea. Approximately 80 percent of the plastic in the oceans now comes from unsecured landfills around the world. Strong winds and rain- falls push the plastic into the seas. A new sorting technology, which is used in the Recyclate Initiative, permits the “extraction” of ultra-pure PET from heavily soiled trash collections. The result is a transparent recyclate that remains in a closed cycle which generates no further waste. The complete needs of Werner & Mertz (Frosch brand) are already satisfied with this quality and a few well-known co-packers have re- cognized the opportunity to become pioneers at this turning point in waste prevention. Unfortunately, the current record-low oil prices are encouraging many manufacturers of plastic packaging to adhere to the linear practice of “take-make-waste” instead of adopting cycles that follow the Cradle to Cradle ® principle. In this phase, financial in- centives for recyclate use – as proposed in the draft of new recycling legislation – are needed to put a reasonable, ground-breaking tech- nology into practice. Incentives that increase the economic attrac­ tiveness of PET recycling could bring about in the medium term what long ago happened with aluminum. Today there is hardly a landfill with an aluminum problem because word got out that recycling of aluminum cans pays off and people began looking after this reus­ able material. The dramatic problem of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans can be combated within a reasonable time if all parties involved develop their own economic interests in changing their habits and finally do what’s right ecologically.