Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
This week’s highlights:
- Plastic waste is a global challenge, with only a small percentage being recycled. Genetically engineered plastic-eating bacteria could be a solution for cleaning up our oceans. Genetic engineering offers a potential solution by creating bacteria that can break down plastics into valuable compounds like adipic acid. However, regulatory hurdles and skepticism towards biotechnology may hinder progress in addressing the plastic pollution crisis. (Genetic Literacy Project)
- The White House may have a plan to cut plastic use in the United States. Calling plastic pollution one of the world’s most urgentenvironmental problems, the Biden administration on Friday said that the federal government, the biggest buyer of consumer goods in the world, would phase out purchases of single-use plastics. The administration also said it planned tougher regulations on plastic manufacturing, which releases planet-warming greenhouse gases and other dangerous pollutants. (The New York Times)
- The energy giant Shell has quietly backed away from a pledge to rapidly increase its use of “advanced recycling,” a process that oil and petrochemical companies have promoted as a solution to the plastic waste crisis. “Advanced” or “chemical” recycling involves breaking down plastic polymers into tiny molecules that can be made into synthetic fuels or new plastics. Shell, which has invested in pyrolysis since 2019 as a way to slash waste, had set a goal to use 1 million tonnes of plastic waste a year in its global chemicals plants by 2025. But in its recent sustainability report, the company said that goal was “unfeasible.” (The Guardian)
