Page 59 - Plastics News May 2023

IN THE NEWS

have found success turning ASR into which is sometimes called advanced tainability officer, in a statement.
new parts. or chemical recycling. This differs Deloitte Consulting LLP estimates
Underpinning the project is Eastman's from mechanical recycling, which more than 10 billion pounds of ASR
carbon renewal technology, a process recaptures used plastics that retain are created each year globally, the
that converts ASR into a synthetic their original properties during the groups said.
gas that can then be used to produce recycling process. Molecular recycling Along with providing a potential so-
polyester and cellulosic thermoplastic breaks down plastics to their molecu- lution to divert waste from landfills,
resins. These plastics were then used lar level before the constituents can USAMP pointed to potential energy
by Yanfeng to mold demonstration be reconstituted into new, virgin-like savings and lower greenhouse gas
parts "to meet of variety of OEM — resin. emissions through the process.
Ford, GM and Stellantis — require- "Modern cars are made with approxi- "We see a lot of potential with the
ments, thereby demonstrating proof mately 50 percent plastics by volume, resin developed with molecular re-
of concept for a truly circular solu- on average; and this number is only processing. We are pleased with the
tion," the companies said. expected to increase as automo- performance of the interior compo-
The automobile manufacturers are tive manufacturers continue to seek nents we molded during the study and
members of the U.S. Council for Au- lighter electric vehicles. We're dem- believe it would be a sustainable solu-
tomotive Research, which includes onstrating a future where automotive tion in production," said Jeff Stout, ex-
USAMP. hard-to-recycle plastics and fibers are ecutive director of global innovation
The Eastman approach falls under diverted from landfills and recycled to for Yanfeng, in a statement.
the category of molecular recycling, produce new automotive parts," said
Steve Crawford, Eastman's chief sus-
UN targets 80% reduction in plastics pollution
She said the report, "Turning Off the
Tap," also suggests steps to help make
recycled materials more cost com-
petitive compared with virgin plastics.
"As long as virgin plastic is cheaper
than recycled, then that becomes an
economic dimension that will make
us, as a global society, lean back on
virgin," she said.
The report looks at levies on virgin
materials, which Andersen admits
might be a non-starter in some coun-
ties, as well as extended producer
responsibility programs and container
deposits.
head of the second round of along with better recycling systems
Aglobal plastics treaty talks in Paris and "careful" replacement of items The U.N. report found that the larg-
later this month, the United Nations like plastic wrappers, sachets and est gains could be made toward the
Environment Programme on May 16 takeaway items. 80 percent reduction from policy op-
released a road map that said a well- UNEP Executive Director Inger An- tions like reusables, EPR and bottle
crafted agreement could reduce plas- dersen told an online news confer- deposits. It estimated they could ac-
tics pollution by 80 percent by 2040. ence that the report finds that plastic count for a 30 percent drop.
UNEP, which is coordinating the trea- pollution costs the world several hun- As well, it said building more profit-
ty negotiations, called for first elimi- dred billion dollars a year, including able recycling systems, including re-
nating "problematic and unnecessary" from climate impacts of plastics man- moving subsidies for fossil fuels and
plastics and then adopting policies like ufacturing, air and water pollution and enforcing design guidelines for recy-
container deposits, producer respon- exposure to hazardous chemicals. clability, could account for another 20
sibility and more reusable packaging, percent drop.

PLASTICS NEWS 59
May 2023