Action recommendations | PlastLIFE Project | April 2026
Prioritizing reuse The reuse of products and packaging is a circular economy model in which products or their parts are used again for the same purpose for which they were originally made. Expectations for the increased adoption of reuse are growing, and legislation is also creating pressure toward it. Short‑lived plastic products cause environmental problems, but reusing products and packaging can help reduce them. Our current way of packaging, purchasing, using, and disposing of goods — both at home and in the workplace — is facing a major transformation if we want to put reuse first. A systemic transition to reuse requires many kinds of changes:
• Reuse is an opportunity, not a threat. Dialogue is needed to resolve conflicts of interest.
• Impacts of reuse: Solutions based on environmental, economic, safety‑related,
and social impacts must be sought through multidisciplinary and cross‑sectoral collaboration. The reuse of plastics requires knowledge and guidelines.
• Pilots and innovations: Developing take-back systems and industrial‑scale
reuse requires pilot projects carried out in cooperation among producers, retailers, logistics, the public and third sectors, reuse service providers, and waste management.
• The central role of citizens: Household participation must be supported through incentives, services, communication, education and reusable products and packaging.
• Incentives and regulation: Tax incentives, financial instruments, ambitious
target‑setting, and data are needed to strengthen reuse. The attractiveness of new and single-use products should be reduced through regulation and by influencing attitudes.
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