The public, environmentalists, brand owners, institutions and now governments are responding to the rising tide of negative perception of plastics caused mainly by their improper disposal after use. The reaction to their environmental impact has been to increase efforts to reduce, ban plastics and/or increase reuse and recycling.

Faced with the prospect of declining use in transportation as vehicle efficiencies and electrification bite, the oil industry is turning to petrochemicals for long-term oil demand growth. However, “petrochemicals” mostly means “plastics”, which are now in the sustainability spotlight.

Understanding the implications for natural resources and the environmental consequences of shifting away from plastics must take into account the entire supply chain. What replaces plastics? Metal? Wood? Paper? Glass? Alternatives can also be costly and few want to incur the burden of higher costs. The consumer and/or brand owners eventually will have to absorb the higher costs but are they willing to do so?

In January 2018, China, the world’s largest importer of recycled material, implemented a ban on the import of plastic waste. This initially increases virgin resin demand in China and will also advance recycling investments in other countries. Canada’s Waste Free Ontario Act encourages innovation in recycling processes and requires producers to take full responsibility for their products and packaging, imposing a target of 80% waste diversion by 2050. Finally, the European Union has stated its intentions for 2030 that 1) All plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable; 2) More than half of plastic packaging waste will be recycled; 3) Sorting and recycling capacity will increase dramatically.

Read the full story at https://www.forbes.com/sites/woodmackenzie/2018/08/12/circular-plastics-economy-long-on-intentions-short-on-solutions/#3f9c8f7f7303.

Sponsor