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:
- 70 major global brands brands — including Coca Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle — have called for a global pact to cut plastic production. The statement comes ahead of a UN conference later this year that will start negotiations on a treaty to address the plastic waste crisis. (Reuters)
- Eastman Chemical Co. plans to invest up to $1 billion to build the world’s biggest molecular-plastics recycling facility in France. The facility will start operations in 2025, processing up to 160,000 tons annually of hard-to-recycle plastic waste that’s currently being incinerated. (Bloomberg)
- Prices for the most common type of recycled plastic have doubled in a year to hit new highs as companies compete for limited supplies. The cost of recycled PET has overtaken that of the virgin equivalent, as demand for recycled products outweighed the impact of rising oil prices on the cost of virgin plastic. (Financial Times)
