The BioDesign Newsletter

Issue #013

Recycling isn’t helping

Less than 60 years after plastics entered households, they have made their way into the planet’s ecosystem and can now be found in rain, shellfish and even within humans.

To reduce the environmental impact of the ever-present material, recycling schemes have been implemented worldwide. However, in 2019, 91% of plastic was not recycled. And to worsen matters, between 2000 and 2019, the production of plastic waste increased by 126% from 156 million tonnes to 353 million tonnes. Local municipalities and waste management contractors are the bearers of this burden and the associated financial drain meanwhile manufacturers add fuel to the fire. 

This growing crisis has led the climate tech industry to battle for change. Here we dig into some challenges in working towards a plastic-free world. 

Standardise, Standardise, Standardise 

Logically a clear path to a plastic-free world would be a ban. However, bans alone are insufficient. The implementation of California’s single-use bag ban in 2014, for example, led to thicker ‘reusable’ plastic bags, increasing the disposal of plastic bags (figure 1), and highlighting the need for clear definitions and standardised solutions.

Clear definitions and standards are simple in theory but can be incorrectly done, which can hinder progress and undermine the intent behind policies. It is terms such as “plastics”, “alternative plastics”, “biodegradable”, “non-plastics”, “biobased”, and “compostable” which need standardised definitions. These definitions would also need to be guided by standardised methodologies. To classify a product to fit a clear definition would also require standardised methods and interpretation of results. For example, what tests need to be passed for a material to be classed as biodegradable and what metric from the results determines if the material fits the criteria?  

Without these carefully considered standards of definitions, methods and metrics in place, comparison of products becomes incredibly difficult and could potentially lead to more plastics being released into our ecosystems, as was the case in California. 

Yet, if done correctly the ‘right’ solutions can be incentivised and limit the exploitation of loopholes. The harmonisation of standards would create a system which does not penalise climate tech start-ups but instead opens a long-term path with clear goalposts and de-risks their access to funding.

Getting more cash into climate tech

Most funding for climate tech start-ups comes from private financing through venture capitalists, impact investments, and corporate partnerships. Innovation doesn’t come cheap, neither does scaling, and for more climate tech solutions to succeed, pockets will need to get deeper.

Is deeper pockets a realistic ask?

Yes. 

Despite hesitations there are changes that can be made to incentivise investments in climate tech. Namely through policies and agreements. 

Most common among the cries for policy amendments is for producers to take financial responsibility for waste management through the extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems to ease the burden on contractors or local municipalities with smaller resource pools. Shifting the responsibility to those causing the issue would result in business-as-usual being met with a financial disincentive prompting a reshuffle of priorities for the producers. This outcome would be echoed at a finalised United Nations Global Plastics Treaty. Using policy as a guide to reshape the management of waste and the environment would unlock funding driving innovation and scaling.

An engine racing behind solutions is The EarthShot Prize, a non-profit, spotlighting 15 finalists that strive towards solutions which regenerate the planet, each year of which five finalists receive a grant of £1M. To be a finalist is to receive a badge of recognition and join the EarthShot family, gaining access to additional opportunities, with The Earthshot Global Alliance partners contributing £70M of funding and support over four years.

Whilst The EarthShot Prize unlocks funding for climate techs, its most valuable contribution has been the comradery surrounding the mission, generating a huge net of awareness of environmental issues. Just as the planet is an ecosystem, the solutions to aid the recovery of the environment must also be an ecosystem. 

Will policymakers join the team?

Collaboration across value chains will accelerate the innovation and scaling of products that do not compromise on performance or environmental impact. The torch must be carried by not only producers but also, investors, designers, waste contractors, consumers as well as policymakers. 

To bring policymakers into the folds, in the run-up to the UK general election, an open letter has been sent to the party leaders in a bid to get the government to prioritise and support the acceleration of climate tech innovation in the coming term stating that “it is an environmental and economic imperative.” Led by ClimateImpact and Startup Coalition, almost 200 leaders in the sustainable solutions space have signed the letter expressing that additional support will maximise the chance of the UK reaching the 2050 net-zero goal. 

All in all:

Tackling plastic pollution, and all climate issues, requires a multi-pronged approach and goes beyond a green bin. Standardised definitions and clear policies, like Extended Producer Responsibility, are crucial to incentivise innovation and discourage greenwashing. Collaboration across the entire value chain, from producers to consumers, is essential to accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable solutions. Finally, we need policymakers to join the team and remove roadblocks for climate techs. It has become clear that motivation is no longer needed to drive change, but instead, collective action is required to enable those who can create the change, to do so.

The BioDesign Newsletter is a free publication.

To support our work, consider subscribing to get the latest publications and sharing with someone that you think would find our content insightful.