Without a Debate on Sufficiency, a Circular Plastics Economy will Remain an Illusion

Abstract

To tackle the “plastic crisis”, the concept of circular economy has attracted considerable attention over the past years, both by practitioners and scholars alike. Against this background, this article reflects from a political scientist’s point of view on key issues currently under discussion regarding the implementation of a circular plastics economy. To do so, the article covers issues raised at the 2021 edition of the Tutzing Symposion, an annual event organized by DECHEMA, the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. These issues include renewable feedstock, life cycle assessments, chemical recycling, appropriate regulatory frameworks, and the allocation of responsibilities to curb plastic pollution. In addition, the article draws on mainly social scientists’ research to point out limitations of the most common understanding of the circular economy concept which describes the circular economy as a holistic approach that enables eco-economic decoupling and thus prevents ecological collapse while still allowing for economic growth. As a result, the article calls for a paradigm shift that challenges this popular, technocratic vision of the circular economy and puts forward sufficiency, i.e., an absolute reduction in production and consumption, as a prerequisite for the realization of a truly circular plastics economy.

Global Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Plastic Supply Chain Resource Metabolism Efficiency and Carbon Emissions Co-Reduction Strategies

“…The emission reduction effects in various countries generally exceed 20%, with Europe even achieving a reduction of up to 40%. These findings emphasize the importance of limiting consumer demand and the necessity of implementing appropriate policies to promote the circular economy [92]. Therefore, future policymakers and stakeholders should prioritize the importance of limiting consumer demand and actively take measures to achieve significant reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, promoting global progress towards a more sustainable development direction.…”

“…In the analysis of resource metabolism indicators under 13 circular economy scenarios, it was found that as long as demand continues to grow-regardless of the levels of RR, CMUR, and CLCR-the VMC indicator shows an upward trend, sharply increasing with demand. Some studies have also found that reducing production and consumption is a prerequisite for achieving a truly circular plastic economy [92]. This finding emphasizes the importance of demand control; besides measures such as increasing recycling, reducing waste at the source is also crucial [93].…”

Current advances in the structural biology and molecular engineering of PETase

“…On the other hand, recently the concept of circular carbon economy based on biotechnological plastic recycling has become a thriving research area in recent years ( Ru, Huo, and Yang, 2020 ; Ellis et al, 2021a ; Kakadellis and Rosetto, 2021 ; Simon et al, 2021 ). In addition to the traditional mechanical recycling and chemical recycling ( Mederake, 2022 ), biocatalytic depolymerization catalyzed by PET-degrading enzymes (e.g., PETase) has emerged as a promising and sustainable alternative for PET upcycling and enable circularity ( Magalhães, Cunha, and Sousa, 2021 ; Cao et al, 2022 ; Lai et al, 2022 ; Ambrose-Dempster et al, 2023 ). A variety of naturally occurring plastic degrading enzymes have been discovered and characterized from microbial sources ( Kawai, 2021 ; Erickson et al, 2022 ; Khairul Anuar et al, 2022 ; Wei et al, 2022 ; Zhu, Wang, and Wei, 2022 ).…”