Niche recycling: Nearly every plastic can be recycled, says Steven Clarke of TerraCycle, a specialty recycler. Often with a corporate sponsor, TerraCycle recycles items including cigarette butts, batteries, toothpaste tubes — and, starting in December 2018, crisp packages. In South Africa, the Dung Beetle Project says its low-cost pyrolysis reactor is a solution for communities that are inundated with plastic waste, but don’t have advanced waste management systems. The Dung Beetle turns plastic into fuel gas or low-sulphur diesel. The seaside city of Durban and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature are exploring ways to use Dung Beetle technology to help reduce coastal plastic waste.

Zero Waste: Waste-to-energy “is not truly a solution,” cautions Sherma Benosa of No-Burn, an environmental NGO in the Philippines. “It goes against the principle of zero waste” and may discourage recycling, she says.