Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
Every week, we publish a roundup of the top developments in plastics and sustainability – from regulatory changes to company news.
This week’s highlights:
- The U.S. Interior Department has issued an order to phase out the sale of single-use plastics in national parks and other public lands by 2032 to combat plastic pollution. The move aims to reduce the procurement, sale and distribution of single-use plastic products and packaging – including plastic and polystyrene food and beverage containers, bottles, straws, cups, cutlery and disposable plastic bags – on more than 480 million acres of public lands, and to identify more sustainable alternatives. The U.S. is one of the world’s top producers of plastic waste. (CNBC)
- South Korean consumers are forcing business to rethink plastic use as the “zero waste” movement gains momentum in the country. The government announced a plan in 2020 to reduce plastic waste by 20% by 2025, amid rising pressure from young consumers and environmental activists to transition to a greener economy. The movement has already seen success, with South Korea topping the “green society” category in the Green Future Index 2022, a ranking compiled by MIT Technology Review. (Financial Times)
- Dubai’s ENOC Group [Emirates National Oil Company] has banned single-use plastics across its operations and in its head office. The move is meant to align with the UAE’s vision of promoting an inclusive green economy, according to a company statement. In March 2020, ENOC Group announced that it will begin a phase-out of single-use plastics and has now achieved a single-use plastic free environment across its business units and corporate departments. (Gulf Business)
