Please register here for a virtual talk given by Professor Konstantinos Aravossis, UNESCO Chairholder on Green Innovation and Circular Economy at the National Technical University of Athens and Professor at the ATHENS MBA. The presentation will focus on the EU Directive for Single Use Plastics reduction and its impact on the Environment and Marine Pollution. The application of this Directive and its effect will be presented in a Case Study for Greece.
Single-use plastic products (SUPs) are used once, or for a short period of time, before being thrown away. The impacts of this plastic waste on the environment and our health are global and can be drastic. Single-use plastic products are more likely to end up in our seas than reusable options. The 10 most commonly found single-use plastic items on European beaches, alongside fishing gear, represent 50% of all marine litter in the EU.
Circular Economy is an alternative to the current linear economy model, make, use, dispose, which aims to keep resources in use for as long as possible, to extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, and to recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of their service life. The Circular Economy framework offers solutions for plastics such as producing plastics from alternative non-fossil fuel feedstocks, using plastic wastes as a resource, redesigning plastic manufacturing processes and products to enhance longevity, reusability and waste prevention, collaboration between businesses and consumers to encourage recycling and increase the value of plastic products, encouraging sustainable business models which promote plastic products as services and adopting fiscal and regulatory measures to support the circular economy.
The European Union aims to become a forerunner in the global fight against marine litter and plastic pollution within its Circular Economy Policy Framework. It aims to reduce the volume and impact of certain plastic products on the environment.
