Multimillion-dollar Fund Supports Circular Plastics Economy

Novel ways to reduce plastics sent to landfill are being explored by University of Auckland researchers, with the help of $11.7 million awarded this month as part of the government's 2022 Endeavour Fund.

Shaping a sustainable circular plastics market and developing the infrastructure needed, requires a large-scale collective effort, says Business School academic Dr Julia Fehrer, one of an interdisciplinary team working on the project to increase the reuse of plastics by New Zealand businesses.

"We were delighted to be awarded the funding this year. We applied for funding three years in a row, and a key part of our work is offering a transdisciplinary solution - we agreed early on that we can only change the situation if we respond to the plastic problem with a holistic approach that focuses on the economic impact as well as the environmental and social impact for New Zealand."

Associate Professor Fehrer, whose research is centred around market shaping for social change, sustainable value cocreation and ecosystem innovation, is working with a team of researchers exploring the best ways to shape a functioning circular plastics market in New Zealand.

This, says Fehrer, can be achieved through co-designing new digital tools to increase the transparency of plastic supply, quality and availability, together with the employment of new interactive user interfaces that can help stakeholders make decisions and engage in a circular way of doing business.

Fehrer, in collaboration marketing, strategy and innovation scholars, is drawing on the latest market shaping theory, as well as methods used in systems, interaction, and games design, and is looking to countries like Finland, Sweden and Germany, where best practice circular approaches to waste management and plastics upcycling are apparent.

Despite strong examples, it won't be easy, says Fehrer.

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