Europe’s plastic industry is at a critical turning point. Profitability is falling as the recession bites. But it cannot just cut back and hunker down. Instead, it has to take a lead in building major new recycling capacity as today’s markets and feedstocks start to disappear.
Chemicals and the Economy
Renewable electricity growth accelerates, as expansions account for 95% of global power increases through 2026
A new report from the International Energy Agency confirms that electricity is set to be the fuel of the future, powered by renewable sources. And the new German government’s decision to allocate 2% of Germany’s landmass to windfarms confirms the scale of the changes underway. The IEA’s chart above details the expansions now planned on […]
Plastics producers need to move to recycled feedstocks as Western refineries start to close
Plastics producers are now being squeezed from both ends of the value chain. Upstream, the growing demand for Electric Vehicles is starting to lead to refinery closures, reducing feedstock availability. Downstream, brand owners are stepping up the pressure for increased use of recycled plastic, as the new Global Commitment report from the Ellen Macarthur Foundation […]
Industry now needs to step up, if Net Zero is to be achieved
Net Zero is clearly the key issue of our time. With COP26 about to start, 3 key elements need to come together to ensure success. Political leaders have to agree to meet the Net Zero targets, and to provide $100bn/year to help poorer nations fund the changes needed. But nothing will happen on the ground […]
The Fed’s stock market bubble is at risk as China bursts its real estate bubble
The US stock market bubble just keeps rising. And every investor “knows” that the US Federal Reserve will never let it burst. But the Fed can’t control the fallout from the bursting of China’s ‘subprime on steroids’ real estate bubble. Could this also mean the end of the Fed’s bubble? There is no doubt that […]
PlasticsEurope calls for mandatory 30% recycling target for packaging by 2030
The European plastics industry last week took the crucial first step in moving away from virgin plastics towards a circular economy. It supported the Commission’s proposal for a mandatory 30% recycled content in plastics packaging by 2030. And it argued that this could only be achieved by the use of chemical recycling. It is hard […]
Auto industry provides a model for the transition to Net Zero
Flooding in China and Europe, record temperatures in the USA, wild fires – all these are signs that climate change is accelerating. After all, the world has gone from 2.5bn people in 1950 to 7.9bn today. That must have an effect. In this interview with Felicia Loo and John Richardson on ICIS News, I discuss […]
Biden’s Earth Day Summit puts plastics recycling on the fast track
Plastics has long been the ‘odd one out’ in terms of recycling. Steel, aluminium, glass, cardboard, rubber and paper routinely have up to a 70% rate of recycling. But plastics has been stuck at around 10% for a long time. President Biden’s Earth Day Summit is likely to change this picture, and quickly. The reason […]
Circular economy set to replace today’s broken global supply chains
The Great Freeze in Texas has confirmed once again the problems with today’s global supply chains. As the New York Times has highlighted: “The pandemic has disrupted every stage of the (supply chain) journey”. The problems began last year with the disruption to the global shipping container system. Millions of containers were used to ship […]
EU focuses on a sustainable and circular plastics system
“The challenges posed by plastics are to a large extent due to the fact that our production and consumption systems are not sustainable. “The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have amplified public attention for the plastic waste crisis we face. “It is clear that the best way is to shift to a fundamentally sustainable and […]
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