Page 47 - Plastics News August 2024
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COMPANY NEWS
report with RaboResearch analyst Regina Mes- In Europe, the recently passed Packaging and
tre, who is based in Europe. Packaging Waste Regulation‘s “ambitious tar-
gets necessitate equally ambitious investments
“That space is one you can go in circles for hours in collection and recycling infrastructure,” ac-
or weeks on end, the competition of good ver- cording to Rabobank’s report. To meet the 2030
sus good, and you’ll see more people shifting to goals, Europe must triple its recycled plastic pro-
carbon emissions goals, because they have to, duction from 2021 levels – PP and PE will require
and the foggy greenwashing stories are difficult a nearly fivefold increase and RPET volumes will
to quantify,” he said. “Carbon emissions are dif- need to double, the report said.
ficult to calculate, but there are ways to do it,
where your sustainability story on using some Meanwhile, in the U.S. the fragmented and rap-
new material may not equate to your carbon idly evolving nature of extended producer re-
footprint being reduced, or it may depend on sponsibility policies has further complicated a
locality. It’s really difficult to make blanket state- sluggish recycling ecosystem.
ments and have it be true across the board.”
“Things are still being determined for EPR laws,”
This position echoes recent comments made Owen said. “If you’re producing across all 50
by the CEO of U.S.-based Dow, a global power- states, you need to understand all the fees
house in PE production. faced across the U.S. versus the cost of recycled
material.”
“I feel that over time, you’re going to see more
focus on low-carbon fossil approaches, like But these challenges can also provide cover for
we’re doing with Alberta,” said Jim Fitterling, brand owners, he said.
Dow CEO, during a January investor call. Dow’s
Path2Zero project in the Canadian province “If you’re trying to source the PCR and you can’t,
will include the world’s first net-zero emissions you have an excuse for a period of time: The
ethane cracker to produce ethylene feedstock quality is a concern, concern about contamina-
for its integrated PE production at the site. tion and the cost. If you want food-grade mate-
rial, it’s certainly going to come at a premium to
The project will decarbonize about 20% of Dow’s virgin,” Owen said.
global feedstock ethylene capacity while grow-
ing PE supply by about 15%. Global oversupply of Brand owners must balance profit margins and
virgin PE already has pushed down pricing and market share with assuming responsibility for
encouraged end users who are not bound by the effects of packaging, Owen said. In the past
PCR mandates to choose the most cost-effec- 18 months or more, virgin PET resin, for example,
tive material – and contributed to lower demand has been so competitively priced that RPET has
and pricing for recycled HDPE in particular. struggled to maintain market share, much less
increase it, in the absence of widespread man-
Nevertheless, the packaging targets global dates.
brand owners set years ago for 2025 and 2030
are arriving quickly, without the infrastructure to “In this world of high inflation, adding PCR is a
support them. big challenge,” Owen said.
August 2024 PLASTICS NEWS 49
