Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
Every Monday, we publish a roundup of the top developments in plastics and sustainability – from regulatory changes to company news.
This week’s highlights:
- Alaska Airlines will replace its single-use plastic water bottles and cups with plant-based cartons and paper cups, in a first for the U.S. airline industry. The company said it would save 1.8 million pounds of single-use plastic over the next year, equivalent to the weight of 18 Boeing-737 planes. Last month Alaska Airlines announced plans to reach net zero by 2040. (Forbes)
- While many companies are setting sustainability goals, demand for post-consumer plastic far exceeds supply. With support from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the private sector, the industry is investing in novel technologies that can shrink plastic’s environmental footprint, revolutionize the way companies think about plastic products and packaging and provide broad economic benefits while meeting the growing demand for plastic. (Green Biz)
- A new study released last week provides a wealth of information on why the narrative to do away with plastics is both wrong-headed and impractical. It argues that the world should instead be engaged in working on solutions to ensure humanity’s ability to continue to take advantage of their many benefits to our 21st century lives. (Forbes)
