Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
This week’s highlights:
- The number of plastic bags found on UK beaches has fallen by 80% over a decade, after a mandatory fee was imposed on shoppers who opt to pick up single-use carrier bags at the checkout. Large retailers in Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England have been required to charge for single-use plastic bags by laws introduced successively between 2011 and 2015. According to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS), which unveiled these statistics in its annual litter survey, the drop was undoubtedly due to the introduction of mandatory charges that should be replicated in other countries. (The Guardian)
- German plastic materials maker Covestro is stepping up its work with vehicle makers and recycling partners to reuse plastic car parts in China to reduce the carbon and resource footprint of its products. Covestro recently joined carmakers Volkswagen and Nio, as well as Shenzhen-based recycling company GEM, in a pilot scheme to work on processing and recycling waste polycarbonate components such as headlights that have reached the end of their life. Last year, the European Commission proposed making it mandatory for a quarter of the plastics used in new vehicles to come from recycled materials by 2030, of which 25 per cent must come from vehicles at the end of their lives. (South China Morning Post)
- Demand for recycled plastic is set to grow in US and EU markets, a new study suggests. According to a recent report by RaboResearch – the analysis and knowledge team of the Netherlands-based Rabobank – demand for recycled polymers has grown in the US and UK markets and is expected to continue to rise in the coming years, primarily driven by state regulation and company pledges in the US and EU-level regulation. (Packaging Europe)