Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies make products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost, like packaged foods, toiletries, cosmetics or over-the-counter medicines.
Increasingly, these companies are seeking to increase collection of their plastic waste and recover value from it in low- and middle-income countries.
This independent academic report (2021) assesses the safety of approaches that FMCG companies may use to do this.
In it, eight different approaches – ranging from conventional reprocessing to incineration – are assessed according to their impact on the environment; public and occupational health; and commercial prevalence and maturity. It also includes further assessment of the suitability of these approaches in low- and middle-income countries, including the risk that they may be operated below safety standards.
While the primary audience of the resource is the decision-makers at FMCG companies and activists seeking to influence them, it may also be a useful resource for other actors involved in implementing these approaches in low- and middle-income countries.
