Reducing single use packaging and moving up the waste hierarchy

Abstract

Interest in circular economy practices is increasing. A key material that connects the circular economy and wider environmental concerns is plastic waste, which poses environmental, climate, and human health risks. Single-use plastic packaging is particularly problematic because it forms the largest share of the global plastics market, has a short life cycle, and has channelled investment towards the bottom of the waste hierarchy. Given single-use plastic packaging is embedded in global trade, transitioning away from use requires much more than ‘behaviour change’ from individual producers and consumers. In this article we use social practice theory to show how social change is occurring with regard to single-use plastics. We draw on two food retail case studies of (primarily) business-to-consumer packaging from Aotearoa New Zealand. We show how transitioning away from single-use plastic food packaging requires (1) understanding the function and meaning of packaging materials, and (2) coordinating other materials, skills and meanings to re-craft and substitute the functions that single-use packaging performs across businesses, supply chains and consumers. Our analysis illustrates the significant collaboration and emerging networks needed for change, and signals how investment towards the top of the waste hierarchy in reuse could contribute to a more circular economy.