Dale Vida al Plástico (Bring Plastics to Life) strives to change consumer behaviour on plastic waste.
In recent years, the world has turned to the search for solutions to the environmental impact caused by the growth of consumption, environmentally unfriendly behaviour and the linear economic model that still prevails in many places and sectors.
This applies especially to plastic, an extraordinary material that has brought countless benefits to humanity. However, when plastic becomes waste, it has been disposed of inappropriately in the environment or wasted in dumps or landfills. These behaviors can be due to a lack of consumer awareness or inefficient collection systems.
Creating a culture of waste separation
In 2018, ACOPLÁSTICOS launched Dale Vida al Plástico (Bring Plastics to Life) in Colombia to raise consumer awareness and strengthen a culture of waste separation in all households.
Dale Vida al Plástico addresses several common environmental concerns and works with civil society, recyclers, actors along the value chain, and strategic allies to improve consumer habits. These include how they think about their waste, encouraging separation at the source, caring for the environment, and positioning the initiatives that are part of the solution.
“Plastic has brought a number of improvements to people’s quality of life, which is undeniable. The problem with this material, mainly in packaging, is that there is not adequate waste separation and proper collection of materials for recycling. Therefore, we are not progressing at the pace we believe we should towards circular economy models to close the product cycle and prevent plastic from ending up in landfills, let alone in rivers, seas, or parks.”
Daniel Mitchell, Acoplásticos’ President
Dale Vida al Plástico works in spaces such as schools, fairs, festivals and heritage festivals in the country, social networks, areas of the national geography that do not have waste management systems, as well as with recyclers, foundations, companies, environmental managers and transformers, to achieve the re-entry of recycled materials to the production process.
A long-lasting impact supporting the plastic circular economy
For over six years, the campaign has empowered the end consumer to take concrete actions reflected in these correct behaviors with the environment. The project has delivered initiatives including:
- The Creation of the Virtual Circular Economy School with the participation of 50+ schools nationwide. Through this program, experts delivered specialized classes on sustainability and the closing of the materials cycle to students, teachers, and industry collaborators nationwide.
- Training sessions with approximately 10 recycler associations.
- An eco-challenge for Colombia developed to promote environmental projects that would positively impact schools and communities in different regions of the country. As a result, students were trained and helped to train other students as environmental leaders.
In addition, thousands of people have been reached through participation in the country’s fairs and festivals with actions towards proper waste separation, with over 70,000 reached through social media communications. Over 45 waste collection journeys have been documented, and the positive impact has reached more than 25 cities.
Dale Vida al Plástico is a permanent initiative that continues making a difference, giving tools, and working with the value chain actors to achieve a circular plastics economy in Colombia.
How ACOPLÁSTICOS tackles plastic waste
ACOPLÁSTICOS approaches the solution to the challenge of plastic waste through four vertical pillars (eco-design, citizen culture, regulation, and circular economy projects) and one horizontal pillar (information on recycling and waste recovery), all with the purpose of energizing the post-consumer plastic markets and moving firmly towards the circular economy.
