Planet Tracker’s Post

Pyrolysis is a public relations distraction to prevent plastic regulation and prop up the profits of the petrochemical industry." A report by Beyond Plastics and IPEN (International Pollutants Elimination Network) shows that "11 pyrolysis facilities in operation in the US required massive public subsidies, most couldn't operate at full capacity, and only two of the plants sold the crude oil to be used exclusively for plastic production. Most of it was sold to make fuels and chemicals." Despite the problems of pyrolysis, many manufacturers hail it as a sustainable miracle. "Companies such as Eastman Chemical Co. see chemical recycling as the solution to recycling or composting 50% of their plastic packaging by 2025, and the American Chemistry Council claims the growing industry is necessary for fostering what it calls 'plastics circularity.'"

Join other investors and asset owners in addressing petrochemical companies in their role in solving plastic pollution. Petrochemical companies are a major contributor to plastic production, increasing the threats of plastic pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss and human health impacts. However, during the latest round of the UN-led Plastics Treaty negotiations petrochemical companies and their supporters have opposed any cut to production to curb plastic pollution and pushed back against the inclusion of polymer production within the treaty. This exposes investors to risk, which aren't just environmental or health-related. Regulatory challenges, reputational damage, plastic-related litigation and shifting consumer demands for sustainable products all pose significant financial risks. We encourage investors to sign the statement calling on petrochemical companies to reduce fossil fuel dependency and eliminate hazardous chemicals in plastics. Read the full statement and sign it here: https://lnkd.in/dUrhB9fB Watch our webinar where we discussed the drivers of oil demand and the role petrochemicals play in addressing plastic pollution here: https://lnkd.in/ebHyb9uA

It is that naughty Second Law of Thermodynamics again, isn’t it! Every irreversibility in the universe brings heat death monotonically closer as the entropy of the universe increases. Concentrating very dispersed material, be it CO2 in DAC, or the preposterous suggestion of concentrating uranium from seawater, or the concentrating of discarded recyclable plastic requires a significant reduction in the entropy of the system (but not the universe, since the entropy increase in the surroundings more than compensates) and this requires work. I suppose that plastic recycling serves a similar purpose to DAC: it is actually damaging, but it assuages the conscience of the scientifically illiterate so they can go on consuming.

One perspective - but the article is missing conversations regarding the continued use of hard to recycle plastics, the need to build sustainable markets for up-cycling or at least recycling to a similar use in order to avoid using virgin materials, the limitations when recycling plastics over and over and finally the differing definitions of recovery around the world when looking at legislated or regulated outcomes.

The fourth round of negotiations on the Global Plastics Treaty are underway, and IPEN (International Pollutants Elimination Network)'s report, 'Troubling Toxics', highlights the critical need to address harmful chemicals in plastics under the Treaty. With thousands of chemicals associated with plastics, many with hazardous properties, urgent action is needed to protect human health and the environment. IPEN identifies an initial list of chemicals that should be controlled under the Treaty and recommends application of the ‘grouping’ principle. Read more in our latest news story: https://lnkd.in/eyCDzeUy Learn more about harmful chemicals in plastics: https://lnkd.in/eViXcVuP   #PlasticsTreaty #INC4 #BeatPlasticPollution

New 63-page report exposes the fraud of plastic recycling (more than 99% of plastics are produced from fossil fuels) and how Big Oil (yes, them again) and the plastics industry deceived the public for decades and caused the plastic waste crisis Fact #1: The vast majority of plastics (94% ) cannot be “recycled” - meaning they cannot be collected, processed, and remanufactured into new product. They never have been and never will be: In the US for example, the recycling rate for plastic is estimated to be only 5-6% Fact #2: Petrochemical companies created and perpetuated recycling as a false solution to plastic waste management - for more than 50 years "the plastics industry began to lie about the viability of recycling as a direct result of the backlash they faced from the public" Fact #3: Big Oil and petrochemical companies ran - and continue to run - a decades-long campaign of deception and disinformation on plastic recycling The plastics industry is about to be hit by a tsunami of lawsuits. Harbinger of much more to come: >California investigating petrochemical companies for causing global plastics pollution crisis >Toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, turned into a movement to ban vinyl chloride, a carcinogen used to make plastic >New York suing PepsiCo for misleading consumers about recycling More reading: impressive investigation and report by The Center for Climate Integrity : https://lnkd.in/gqcsTJs6 Summary article: https://lnkd.in/g-BvysUZ

How to create a ‘world without waste’? Here are the plastic industry’s ideas. A deep dive into the petrochemical industry's proposals for the global plastics treaty

Important and timely insights on how businesses should prepare in the wake of the latest Global Plastics Treaty - INC-4. #ESG #plastics #INC-4 https://lnkd.in/eDZSCfHq

Interesting start to my third and final week working at the S&P Global Commodity Insights Mexico City office with recent US government announcements surrounding the phasing out of single use plastic and efforts to reduce dependence on virgin materials in federal procurement. Check out my coverage of industry reaction and likely market implications below!