Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
This week’s highlights:
- China and Japan are leading the way in developing innovative plastic technologies, according to a new study by GovGrant, with this sector tripling in size since 2015. Among the technologies being developed include processes to develop alternative materials from plastic waste, novel processes and machinery to recover, separate and recycle plastic waste, recycling solutions and the development of biodegradable plastic solutions. (European Supermarket Magazine)
- The use of single-use supermarket plastic bags had fallen 98% since retailers in England began charging for them in 2015, official data has shown. Annual distribution of plastic carrier bags by seven leading grocery chains plummeted from 7.6bn in 2014 to 133m last year. Campaigners against single-use plastic welcomed the data as showing the success of plastic bag fees at retail locations, but said more must be done to reduce plastic consumption overall. (The Guardian)
- A group of 14 attorneys general are urging the Biden administration to adopt a more comprehensive strategy to reduce plastic pollution, which they say should include reducing new plastic production and addressing fast-fashion waste. In a letter submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the attorneys general of California, New York, the District Columbia and others called the plastic pollution crisis “one of the most pervasive challenges of our time.” (Reuters)
