Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
This week’s highlights:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft strategy to tackle plastic pollution across the country. Referred to as the ‘National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution’, the strategy was drafted by the EPA alongside industry leaders and additional stakeholders. The document focuses on three objectives: reducing pollution during plastic production, improving management of post-use materials, and preventing waste and micro/nano plastics from entering waterways. (Packaging Gateway)
- U.S. President Joe Biden issued an order to replace the majority of fossil-based plastics with recyclable bio-based polymers. Proclaiming that “the world is on the cusp of an industrial revolution fueled by biotechnology and biomanufacturing,” a new report from The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy details Executive Order 14081 from the President that calls for displacing 90% of today’s petroleum-based plastics with recyclable-by-design bio-based polymers over the next 20 years. (Packaging World)
- Toymaker LEGO and Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk will reportedly purchase green methanol for plastic production. LEGO said last Thursday it had agreed to buy e-methanol, a lower-carbon alternative to conventional plastic ingredients, for use in its colorful plastic bricks when the world’s first large-scale plant starts operations next year. Privately owned renewable energy firm European Energy, which is developing the plant in Denmark, said Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk will also buy its e-methanol to substitute fossil-based plastic in insulin pens and other medical devices. (Reuters)