Sustainable use of plastic – Downloads
Do you want to show what it could look like in a future when plastic use is sustainable? The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has a produced future vision to visualize it.
Download the illustrations and videos, they are free to use.
NOTE! The videos may not be used in sponsored posts or advertisements. If you have a need to use the films in sponsored posts or advertisements, please contact the national plastics coordination at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
Illustration: Nina Wennersten, Make Your Mark.
Production: Make Your Mark
Videos
Illustrations
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Sustainable use of plastic – Future vision
Welcome to the future and a sustainable use of plastic.
In society's important sectors we've established sustainable business models and we've all adjusted to new ways of consuming and living. Here, in this ideal vision of the future you can see how we've managed to reduce the use of plastic, introduce more reuse, give products the right lifespan and maximise level of use.
You'll see that the actual change for us as individuals is relatively small but the difference to the sustainable use of plastic is big.
Local authority
At the local authority we are good at minimising the use of plastic. At the town's festival we unpack decorations, china and metal cutlery that we use year after year. At the town square we serve food made on-site, using local ingredients and dirty dishes go to the washing-up station. The days of overflowing bins are long gone. On a grass-covered slope we've created a playscape, a playground where nature has guided the design.
We no longer build playgrounds with artificial surfaces releasing microplastics and equipment that dampen children's imagination.
Playscapes are also beneficial to biodiversity.
Restaurant & retail
At lunchtime customers turn up at the restaurant with their food containers. Because they can get just the amount they want, food waste has reduced and so has our handling of rubbish.
In the refill store you can buy products as refills or by weight. Other products are optimally packaged to minimise environmental impact.
In the reuse galleria we have a well-functioning business model to rent, borrow, exchange and share. People working here can repair almost anything, which is great, because things sorted for reuse at the recycling centre are sent here.
Many products contain a lot of plastic. It's good that we can give them the right lifespan and maximise the level of use.
Manufacturing industry
Things that can no longer be reused are sent directly from the recycling centre to the manufacturing industry, where we have innovative technologies and production methods, making sure materials are recycled into new high-quality products.
We manufacture to order, to the correct size and quantity to avoid waste and overproduction. This also minimises transport and in turn microplastics pollution from road tyres.
By applying responsible production practices we help improve resilience and perseverance in society, reduce the use of plastic and enable more material recycling.
Construction sites
The construction industry's production chains are based on reuse and material recycling. If a house is demolished, we know where the materials can be reused. Building components from the manufacturing industry are custom-made to reduce waste. Heavy components are transported to the building site by train. Lighter components by electric cars or bikes.
Small companies can rent or borrow machines they only need on the odd occasion. All recycling fractions are nearby.
Particles created during work on-site are collected in a closed environment. We restrict painting but when we do paint, we do so with paints that contain no plastics or harmful chemicals.
Healthcare sector
Progress in healthcare has involved some rewinding. We've phased out the use of single-use plastic products without compromising on modern hygiene and safety. Everything else has returned to an updated version of how things used to be done.
We have real glasses and china in the dining room. Surgical instruments and protective clothing are sterilised, washed and reused.
Large quantities of plastic gloves are still needed in the healthcare sector. They are hard to replace. That's why a recycling machine has been developed where used gloves are put in, processed and turned into new ones. All in the same hospital building.