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:
- The European Union will ask India to join its push for a legally binding global treaty to stem plastic pollution, already supported by the likes of Rwanda and Peru. Brussels aims to win support ahead of a U.N. meeting in February 2022 which could launch negotiations on the agreement. (Reuters)
- The charge for single-use plastic bag in England will double from 5 pence to 10 pence from May 21 for all business in the country. Since the announcement of the 5-pence levy in 2015, the use of plastic bagas has fallen by more than 95%, and the average person in England now buys only four single-use carrier bags a year from the main supermarkets (vs. 140 in 2014). (BBC)
- Companies have issued nearly $240 billion in bonds and loans tied to environmental, social and governance performance (ESG) since last summer, meeting huge demand from investors. Portuguese plastics packaging group Logoplaste became the first company to add ESG-linked interest costs to a junk-rated loan sold to investors, with the company’s CEO saying he believes ESG is “going to become part of the license to operate.” (Wall Street Journal)
