Circularity Micro-Indicators for Plastic Packaging and Their Relation to Circular Economy Principles and Design Tools

Joana Matos, Carla I. Martins and Ricardo Simoes ()
Additional contact information
Joana Matos: Institute for Polymers and Composites (IPC), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal
Carla I. Martins: Institute for Polymers and Composites (IPC), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal
Ricardo Simoes: Institute for Polymers and Composites (IPC), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-20

Abstract: Plastic packaging, in the form of films, brought several advantages to the commercialization of products given its lightness and durability. It provided better ergonomics, ease of transport, increased shelf life, and easy handling and use. Despite that, plastic packaging is facing enormous sustainability concerns associated with the traditional practice of linear economy, combined with commonplace irresponsible handling by citizens since it is almost exclusively designed for single-use and its end-of-life (EOL) management is not planned for. To mitigate that, the circularity of plastic packaging must be more clearly studied and evaluated through approaches such as micro-level circular economy (CE) indicators. This paper focuses on the selection of relevant CE micro-indicators specifically for the plastic packaging sector among the plethora of indicators available. Relations are also established between CE micro-indicators and CE guiding principles, as well as the most prevalent Design for X (DfX) approaches, providing new insights into how these different aspects of sustainability can be linked together. Results show three micro-level indicators as the most relevant for circularity calculation in packaging, namely those termed ‘MCI’, ‘VRE’, and ‘CEIP’, because their methodology and approach address most of the CE guiding principles and DfX approaches relevant for the packaging sector. Finally, guidelines and good practices to promote circularity adoption in the plastic packaging sector are highlighted. This work can guide companies aiming to adopt CE micro-indicators in their practical implementation, overcoming the significant knowledge barrier that currently exists.

Keywords: circular economy; circularity indicators; packaging; plastics; CE guiding principles; Design for X (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/2182/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/2182/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:2182-:d:1352017

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().