Proceedings of a Workshop

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This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the American Beverage Association, Department of Energy, Environmental Law Institute, ExxonMobil, Long Ridge Foundation, Monterey Bay Aquarium, National Academy of Science Arthur L. Day Fund, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation, Proctor & Gamble Company, S.C. Johnson, and The Ocean Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-99455-2
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/29199

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Circularity and Plastics: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/29199.

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PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR CIRCULARITY AND PLASTICS—A WORKSHOP

RAJESH BUCH (Chair), Arizona State University

ANTHONY X. CLERC, Procter & Gamble

MRIDULA KAPUR, Dow Chemical Company

RACHEL KARASIK, Norwegian Institute for Water Research

RACHEL MEIDL, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy

NABIL NASR, Rochester Institute of Technology and REMADE Institute

VEENA SINGLA, Columbia University

IMARI WALKER-FRANKLIN, RTI International

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff

CAROLINE BELL, Program Officer

LIANA VACCARI, Program Officer

SAFAH WYNE, Research Assistant

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Reviewers

This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by RAMANI NARAYAN, Michigan State University. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.

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Contents

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

1 INTRODUCTION

Organization of the Workshop and Proceedings

Keynote Address

2 PERSPECTIVES ON CIRCULARITY, PLASTIC USE SECTORS, AND SECTORAL INTERDEPENDENCIES

Perspectives on Circularity and Plastics

Perspectives on Current State of Circularity within the Packaging, Building Materials, and Textile Sectors

Perspectives on Cross-Sectorial Synergies and Interdependencies

3 PACKAGING: DESIRED FUTURE STATE AND SOLUTION PATHWAYS

4 TEXTILES: DESIRED FUTURE STATE AND SOLUTION PATHWAYS

5 BUILDING MATERIALS: DESIRED FUTURE STATE AND SOLUTION PATHWAYS

6 SYNERGIES AND INTERDEPENDENCIES ACROSS FUTURE STATE AND SOLUTION PATHWAYS

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A: Workshop Agenda

APPENDIX B: Zero Waste Hierarchy in Plastics: Background Research

Boxes, Figures, and Tables

BOXES

1-1 Statement of Work

1-2 Key Terms

FIGURES

2-1 Vision of the circular materials ecosystem with components including design for circularity; manufacturing; product; consumer and business; collection, cleaning and sorting; mechanical & advanced recycling; and biowaste

2-2 Global plastic cycles in 2022 by polymer type, sector, and end of life

2-3 Food packaging and potential or detected food contact chemicals and impacts thereof

2-4 Goodwill’s network and volume of materials processed in 2024

2-5 Actions to increase circularity of building materials

TABLES

3-1 Summary of Human Dimensions in Desired State and Example Pathways Prepared by the Packaging Breakout Group

3-2 Summary of EPR Desired State and Pathways Prepared by the Packaging Breakout Group

4-1 Summary of Desired State and Pathways Prepared by the Textiles Breakout Group

5-1 Summary of Desired State and Example Pathways Prepared by the Building Materials Breakout Group

5-2 Summary of Example Enabling Policies and Standards Prepared by the Building Materials Breakout Group

Acronyms and Abbreviations