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The future of plastic – how to fix the broken system

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Sian Sutherland, co-founder of campaign group A Plastic Planet, interviews our Head of Packaging, Pablo Costa, about the opportunities and challenges, the system shifts required and the potential game-changing solutions.

Two people sitting opposite each other

It is predicted that the plastic pollution crisis will surge between now and 2040, with twice as much virgin plastic created and four times more in the ocean.

So how do you fix it?

That’s the question Sian Sutherland, environmental entrepreneur and co-founder of campaign group A Plastic Planet, asked Pablo Costa, Unilever’s Head of Packaging, when she interviewed him about the global challenge of plastic pollution and what can be done to solve it.

In this wide-ranging discussion, they explore a host of topics, including the role of innovative product – not just packaging – design, what’s needed to accelerate solutions at scale and the roadblocks that are stopping us getting to the nirvana of zero waste.

They also consider whether the problem could be the catalyst for us all to rethink our current culture of take–make–dispose. As Sian puts it: “Has the plastic crisis been a tap on the shoulder of humanity to say you’ve gone down the wrong road?

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