Plastics Packaging in a Closed Loop. Potentials, Conditions, Challenges

Between October 2019 and December 2020, the packaging working group of the Circular Economy Initiative Deutschland created a roadmap with the aim of achieving a Circular Economy for plastics packaging. The members of the working group are representatives of academic institutions, leading German businesses and civil society organisations. They have proven experience in the packaging sector and cover the entire value chain from design via production and use to reuse/recycling infrastructure. As a result, the working group, whose central findings are presented in this report, were able to take a maximally integrated approach to the subject. The report includes a discussion of the potential, barriers and possible trade-offs involved in a Circular Economy for plastics packaging, drafts a vision for 2030 and 2050 and outlines the development of policy recommendations for the central stakeholders. The members are thus creating the foundations for an enduring Circular Economy in Germany and beyond.