Page 40 - Plastics News February 2021

internAtionAL news

Nigeria to join World Economic China aims to go Big in Bioplastics

Forum to tackle plastic pollution
hinese material manufacturers plan to dramatically
Cincrease their output of biodegradable plastics
orld Economic Forum has announced that Nigeria made from plants in response to China’s ban against
Wwill officially join forces with its Global Plastic disposal plastic bags. A single company, China BBCA
Action Partnership (GPAP) to fight plastic pollution. Group, aims to build up its capacity to produce the
World Economic Forum has announced that Nigeria plastic to a level that far outstrips global demand.
will officially join forces with its Global Plastic Action
The scale of these plans attests to the size of China’s
plastic waste problem. But it also raises concerns
among competitors of a Chinese-driven supply glut
the likes of which “We want to show our answer to
white pollution,” said BBCA President Li Rongjie, using
the term coined for waste plastics. A supplier of lactic
acids used in food additives, BBCA in August started up
a plant capable of producing 50,000 tons of polylactic
acid (PLA) polymers a year, later breaking ground on
another plant in December. The group plans to reach
the capacity to produce 700,000 tons of PLA annually
by 2023.That same year, the global PLA market will
grow to 370,000 tons, according to the Fuji Chimera
Research Institute in Tokyo, up from less than 200,000
Partnership (GPAP) to fight plastic pollution. With an aim tons in 2019. PLA, a biodegradable compound derived
to reduce plastic waste and pollution, GPAP is a platform from corn and other plants, has a wide range of uses
co-founded by partners across the public and private including as nonwoven fabric masks, apparel and
sectors to translate plastic pollution commitments into drinking straws. Nearly 10 other Chinese companies
concrete solutions. By joining GPAP, Nigeria will now besides BBCA have plans to raise their PLA capacity,
work with the World Economic Forum for the launch a July survey by China’s Huaan Securities shows.
of a National Plastic Action Partnership along with Similar activity can be seen in other biodegradable
Indonesia, Ghana and Vietnam to advance national plastics. Huaan says about 15 companies plan to boost
efforts to tackle plastic pollution. The main mandates production of polybutylene adipate terephthalate, a
of the partnership will include creation and working with
locally-led, locally driven platforms to bring together
the most influential policy-makers, business leaders and
civil society advocates in the country. These platforms
include the Federal Ministry of Environment and the
African Development Bank-coordinated Nigeria Circular
Economy Working Group (NCEWG). The partnership aims
to provide a national action plan to further reduce plastic
pollution and connect high-potential solutions with
strategic financing opportunities. Nigeria Environment
Minister Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar said: “With this
partnership, Nigeria is further reinforcing its commitments
and efforts towards addressing plastic pollution and petroleum-based compound also known as PBAT. Major
safeguarding the environment. “From co-founding the Chinese producers plan to increase annual output of
African Circular Economy Alliance and establishing a PBAT and polybutylene succinate (PBS) by a combined
Nigerian / AfDB Circular Economy Working Group to 1.24 million tons, according to interviews conducted
joining the Global Plastic Action Partnership, Nigeria is by BBCA’s Tokyo-based partner HighChem. This is 4.8
determined to work together towards a future free of times their capacity in June 2020.
plastic pollution and waste.”

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