They have promised to make 60% of all plastic packaging recyclable or reuseable by 2030 with the goal of 100% by 2040.
They have also pledged - as part of a voluntary commitment - to do more to stop plastic waste ending up in the environment and find alternative raw materials to oil and gas.
As part of Plastics 2030, PlasticsEurope has established three European platforms – Vinyls Circular Solutions, Styrenics Circular Solutions, and Polyolefin Circular Economy Platform – to bring together organisations that can help bring about change.
An independent panel made up of representatives from academia, the European Commission and the European Parliament will regularly monitor and report on progress.
For INEOS, one of the world’s leading producers of plastic, it is not waiting to show the world what it is already doing – and what it intends to do.
“The public often think we don’t care about plastic pollution, but we care massively,” said Tom Crotty, INEOS’ Director of Corporate Affairs. “Plastic waste in the ocean is totally unacceptable. But plastic is not evil. Plastic waste is evil. And that needs to be said. Maybe it is now time to fight fire with fire. We have got to get out there and tell people what we are doing.”
As public outrage over marine litter continues to grow, so too does INEOS’ frustration that its voice often goes unheard, its message of hope drowned out by those calling for all plastic to be banned.
“It can be really frustrating when politicians make cheap political points because even among plastic producers, plastic pollution is the only topic of conversation at the moment,” said Tom.
He believes the targets – set out and agreed by plastics producers in Europe – are all achievable.
“That’s not to say that they aren’t challenging,” he said. “But there is no point in setting easy targets. It also hopefully shows that we are concerned about doing the right thing. This is the industry talking. This isn’t being forced upon us by governments.”
INEOS O&P, INOVYN, and INEOS Styrolution are already working on solutions to the problems set out in Plastics 2030.
But they are also going beyond this to make its own pledges that will be achieved by 2025.
“INEOS is really good at finding innovative solutions to the big issues,” said Tom. “As an organisation we are able to make decisions very quickly because we don’t have to go through hundreds of committees.”
The company has already met one of the targets. All of INEOS’ plastic can now be recycled thanks to a decision it made several years ago to remove certain additives.
For INEOS, the most difficult areas will be those over which it has no control – what happens to the plastic once people have finished with it.
“Plastic waste is bad when it is badly handled,” he said. And in parts of Asia, it currently is. “That is where our focus needs to be,” said Tom. “We are looking at how we can support industry initiatives to help prevent waste from reaching the rivers. Even if we just put fences around these landfill sites as a temporary measure, it would help.”
Another part of the industries goal is to reduce marine litter, one of today’s biggest environmental challenges.
INEOS is already signed up to the global plastic industry’s Operation Clean Sweep®, an international initiative to stop the pellet loss into the world’s oceans and rivers.
Recently it has worked across the entire industry and supply chain at the Port of Antwerp where there was a co-ordinated clean up across the port.
The project has made an impact and other EU ports are expected to follow Antwerp’s lead. With plastic waste now firmly at the top of the political agenda, Tom hopes the value of plastic to society will not be forgotten in the rush to ban certain plastics.
“Plastic is everywhere and we are massively reliant on it,” he said. “It is in cars, computers, phones, clothes, medical equipment, and planes.”
Plastic pipes, he said, had transformed some of the poorest parts of the world, bringing them clean water along pipes that were cheap and easy to install. “To those people, plastic has been a godsend,” he said.
INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe
INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe has given itself an equally tough brief.
All the plastic INEOS currently produces can be recycled.
But recycling becomes difficult when different plastics – and there are more than 50 types of polymer – are combined to make highly efficient but complex packaging.
INEOS is determined to help tackle the problem by encouraging packaging designers to simplify their products and make them recyclable.
“We could, for example, achieve the goal of using one single polymer if we worked together,” said Jacques Breulet, Regulatory and External Affairs Manager, INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe. “We need a joined-up approach.”
And that is the drive of the foundation of the Polyolefins Circular Economy Platform, which brings together resin producers, converters, recyclers, brand owners, all of whom need to work together.
INEOS is bringing its polymer expertise to improve the quality and specification of recycled plastics to encourage demand.
Recycled plastic can be used to make clothes, drainage pipes, bridges, fences, signs, seating, bin liners, and kerbstones, to name a few.
Until now the quality has been the problem.
“Provided the quality is OK, there is absolutely nothing wrong with recycled plastic,” said Jacques.
INOVYN
PVC producers have also pledged to do more.
The newly-formed PlasticsEurope initiative wants the six leading European producers of PVC resin to increase the shelf-life of PVC packaged products and recycle more PVC.
Here INEOS’ INOVYN business is already making huge inroads to recycle PVC thanks to VinylPlus, a similar sector voluntary commitment agreed in 2011.
“With regard to the VinylPlus voluntary commitment, INOVYN is pretty much leading the whole process,” said Dr. Jason Leadbitter, Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at INOVYN.
PVC was a plastic once demonised by many. To prove that it could be recycled, INOVYN invested, and continues to invest, in Recovinyl – the recycling arm of VinylPlus, which now recycles nearly 640,000 tonnes of PVC from old window frames, flooring, cabling, pipes, and other disused applications every year.
“We don’t get anything directly financial out of it,” said Jason. “In fact, it eats into the margins of one of our core businesses. But it’s a double-edged sword because it demonstrates that PVC is part of the circular economy and seen as a 21st-century material.”
Unlike other plastics, most PVC is currently recycled in Europe where new markets for the recycled products were sought – and found.
“If we can do it, so can the other polymer providers because plastic is a valuable resource and should be treated as such,” said Jason.
For Jason, voluntary commitments are better than legally-binding regulations.
“They provide a huge incentive to create win/win opportunities for both industry and regulators because they save on red tape,” he said.
INEOS STYROLUTION
INEOS Styrolution is also at the heart of a major project to help reduce the amount of polystyrene packaging that ends up in landfill.
It has joined forces with ReVital Polymers and Pyrowave to increase the amount of single-use polystyrene that is collected for recycling and, in turn, help to solve a growing global environmental problem.
ReVital already recycles lots of different types of plastic waste at its plant in Canada but it will also soon be able to treat, for the first time, polystyrene waste – no matter how contaminated – using Pyrowave’s technology.
The microwave machine, developed by Pyrowave over eight years, will convert the polystyrene packaging at ReVital’s facility in Sarnia, Ontario, into a high-quality styrene monomer.
INEOS Styrolution will then turn that liquid monomer into a virgin resin and use it to make new products and packaging.
“We are extremely excited about this project, “ said Ricardo Cuetos, Vice President Americas, Standard Products, INEOS Styrolution America LLC. “It brings together major players across the value chain with a smart solution to recycle polystyrene through new innovative technologies.”
The process is known as chemical recycling and is a major step on the road to a circular economy where nothing is wasted.
Only 8% of plastics generated today are recycled, yet the material and environmental costs to haul, store, sort, and process plastics are enormous.
“Polystyrene foam is one of the most challenging materials because it contains 95% air and is often contaminated with food or drink, and so far it has been very difficult to recycle in an economic way with traditional methods,” said Mohammed Abboud, Product Manager, Standard Products at INEOS Styrolution.
But all that is about to change. Certainly in Canada and North America.
First, though, all three companies must do what they can to raise awareness of what ReVital can now do at its processing plant.
“Although we know there is a lot of polystyrene waste around us, surprisingly the challenge we face is the lack of available material because it is not properly recovered,” said Jocelyn Doucet, CEO of Pyrowave.
And recovery of that polystyrene – from the roadside, landfill sites, restaurants, offices, schools, and universities – is key.
Keith Bechard, Chief Commercial Officer at ReVital, said the installation of Pyrowave’s technology would make the difference.
“We are very excited to bring our years of expertise in large-scale plastic recycling operations to support the commercialization of Pyrowave’s technology,” he said.