Nusa Dua. Global business giants and governments have announced a new global commitment to achieving a circular economy for plastic, which includes moving away from single-use to multi-use packaging models and fully reusable, recyclable and compostable plastic packaging.

The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, launched at the 2018 Our Ocean Conference in Bali on Monday, is supported by 250 signatories. This includes some of the world's largest brands, such as Danone, L'Oréal, PepsiCo and Unilever, and packaging producers, such as Amcor, and governments, including those of Britain and France.

The commitment reflects a move toward achieving a circular economy, which refers to an operational model designed to minimize waste and pollution from production by way of optimizing resources, focusing on regenerating the system and is powered with renewable energy.

This model is a transition from the take-make-dispose model, and aims to design products that, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, "can be made to be made again."

"The global commitment aims to create 'a new normal' for plastic packaging," the foundation said in a statement received by the Jakarta Globe.

Targets include eliminating plastic packaging deemed problematic or unnecessary, creating innovations to achieve plastic packaging that will be 100 percent reusable, recyclable and compostable by 2025, and ensuring circulation of produced plastics to make sure they are re-used or recycled into new packaging or products.

"I encourage all businesses and governments to go further and embark on a race to the top in the creation of a circular economy for plastic. One in which this material never becomes waste or pollution," said Ellen MacArthur, founder of the foundation named after her.

These targets will be reviewed every 18 months, and businesses that have made their pledges are committed to publishing annual data on their progress.

"We believe the time is now to step up and work with others to drive a radical shift that will help free the world from packaging waste," said Emmanuel Faber, chairman and chief executive of Danone.

According to a 2015 study by the University of Georgia, published in the academic journal Science, the total amount of plastic waste generated can be expected to double by 2025 if the plastic habit remains unchanged.

There could also be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050, if current trends continue.

While packaging is not the only source of pollution, a third of all plastic produced goes into packaging.