Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
This week’s highlights:
- More than 170 trillion plastic particles are polluting the world’s oceans, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE. This “plastic smog”, if gathered, would weigh around 2.3 million tonnes in what amounts to an “unprecedented” level of pollution. Without urgent policy action, the rate at which plastics enter the oceans could increase by around 2.6 times between now and 2040, the study found. (CNN)
- Canada’s single-use plastic regulations face their first legal test as the plastics lobby and the federal government head to court. The ban affects checkout bags, straws, stir sticks and cutlery. Some of these prohibitions have already taken effect, while others won’t happen until 2025. The plastics companies bringing the case, including Dow Chemical Canada, Imperial Oil and Nova Chemicals, have accused the government of introducing a pollution containment plan with “fatal flaws.” (CBC)
- Germany is on the cusp of approving a levy on single-use plastic manufacturers for the cost of collection, cleaning and disposal of single-use plastic. From next year, the cost of cleaning public spaces could be passed on to corporations rather than local councils following a law passed by Germany’s federal parliament. The draft single-use plastics fund act dictates manufacturers of items including plastic cups, bottles and crisp packets should contribute to a state fund, whose annual income is expected to be up to EUR 450 million ($478.3 million). (JustFood)