Plastic is generally perceived as a synthetic material that can be easily shaped or molded into objects. The difficulty with the definition is that plasticity  - the ability to be molded – is a property, not a substance, and therefore in terms of sustainability the term can be confusing as plastics can be plant -based or chemical, as well as biodegradable or persistent in the environment. 

We recommend ironing out your definition of plastic in any plastics reducing/replacing project upfront.

No. If a material is recyclable it can be recovered at the end of its life and converted into a new product, either the same product as before or ‘downcycled’ into a lower value but still usable material. Biodegradable and compostable are often used interchangeably when clearer definition is needed. A biodegradable material will decompose into water, biomass, and gasses such as carbon dioxide and methane. However, the conditions and timeframe for this to happen need to be understood. A compostable material will only decompose under certain temperature and humidity conditions, often only found in industrial composting facilities. A material that is specified to be marine biodegradable will actually break down to benign components in the environment

The circular economy describes a regenerative ecosystem where the production of goods/services is sourced by the outputs of those goods services. In practice this means that goods are reusable, recyclable or returnable to their core source materials so that they can be endlessly formed and reformed into new goods. And that services use natural resources (energy, water, air etc) in a net neutral way so that resources are not depleted.

Greenwashing is a pejorative term for companies describing business activities as being environmentally focused when in fact the claim is dubious. This is a term increasingly used to describe corporates who are seen to be hijacking the environmental agenda to enhance their credentials without doing anything of real substance.