Digital transformation is increasingly recognised as a means to help unlocking the benefits of more inclusive and sustainable growth and enhanced social well-being. In the environmental context, digitalisation can contribute to decoupling economic activity from natural resource use and their...

Single-use plastics constitute approximately half of global plastic waste generation. Their use in consumer goods and packaging has been the focus of recent waste prevention policy due to the importance of the volumes of waste generated and the frequency with which these materials are littered....

Circular Economy Labels and Information Schemes (CELIS) compose the group of labels, certifications, standards of information schemes that fully or partially address one or more resource efficiency or circular economy elements. CELIS can play an important role in fostering circular economy...

One of the key objectives of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is to instigate design for the environment. In collective EPR schemes, the fee schedule set by Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) is typically quite simple and provides weak incentives for design change by producers....

Despite decades of experience with Deposit Refund Systems (DRS) in some countries and sub-national markets, there are only a few instances where DRS is complemented by additional mandatory extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy instruments within the same sector. In light of increasingly...

Trade in plastic waste and scrap plays a potentially important role in helping to strengthen markets for recycled plastics as it can help to achieve economic efficiency through for instance economies of scale. But such trade has also been criticised for leading to plastic pollution when...

Global trade in plastic waste and scrap declined further (2017-2021) in 2021 and preliminary data indicates a continuing trend in the first half of 2022 (January to May). The combined trade surplus of OECD Member Countries (i.e., the difference between exports and imports) continued to decrease....

Global trade in plastic waste and scrap declined further (2017-2022) in 2022. The combined trade surplus of OECD Member Countries (i.e. the difference between exports and imports) continued to decrease. Less plastic waste and scrap is being exported by OECD countries to non-OECD countries,...

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach that makes producers responsible for their products at the post-consumer stage of the lifecycle. It has been widely adopted by governments and companies across the OECD membership and beyond and is currently most commonly used for...

Companies are announcing pledges to increase their use of recycled content in their plastics products or packaging. But companies have historically failed to meet the goals that they have announced. OECD governments are adopting policies that will require the use of recycled content. There is...