Circular and plastics

Plastic has become a malevolent symbol of our wasteful society. It’s also one of the most successful materials ever invented: it’s cheap, durable, flexible, waterproof, versatile, lightweight, protective and hygienic.

Spotlight on World Environment Day about how Cambridge researchers are working towards eliminating plastic waste.

Plastic has become a malevolent symbol of our wasteful society. It’s also fundamental to almost every aspect of our lives. How do we shift our ‘take, make, throw-away’ plastic world towards ‘recycle, recover, re-use’? Experts, including Dr Khaled Soufani, Director of the Circular Economy Centre at Cambridge Judge Business School, offer their thoughts.

CEC is part of a consortium at the University of Cambridge that was awarded more than £1 million funding by the UK Research and Innovation agency to respond to challenges posed by plastic waste.

The Cambridge Creative Circular Plastics Centre (CirPlas) is one of eight UK centres set up to find solutions to the problem of plastic waste. Established in 2019, their work was initially funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). We have grown into a global network of projects and people who think creatively about plastics.

In the process of designing ways to measure circularity, Circular Economy Centre researchers identified what businesses are doing, what needs to change, and what the challenges are to becoming more circular. Based on this research, CirPlas has written advice for businesses.