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Is Recycling the New Eldorado for Oil, Gas and Utilities?

UK Government opens consultation over plastic packaging tax (just-drinks)

  • The UK government has announced a consultation into its plans to introduce a tax on the production and import of plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content in April 2022.
  • The tax is meant to shift economic incentives involved in the production of more sustainable plastic packaging, as evidence from last year showed that using recycled plastic is often more expensive than new material.

Comments

  • The consultation, which can be found here, is set to end on the 12th of May and includes questions such as which packaging should be in scope of the tax, how recycled content should be accessed, and which businesses should be liable for the tax.
  • Another development to watch, in our view, is the European Union’s pending decision on a coherent standard for “biodegradable plastics” before evaluating exemptions from its recent ban on single/use plastics.

Veolia is a company leading recycling, toxic waste solutions and water management and which could benefit strongly from this new political agenda in Western countries

Plastic Recycling: Total Acquires France’s Synova (Company press release)

  • Total has acquired Synova, a French leader in manufacturing high-performance recycled polypropylene (PE) for automobiles.
  • The acquisition is anticipated to boost Synova’s production of PE from recycled plastics which currently stands at 20,000 tonnes per year.
  • The acquisition is also part of Total’s wider effort to end plastic waste pollution alongside 30 other companies who are members of the End Plastic Waste Alliance; $1bn has already been committed towards the movement.

Comments

  • I find the recycling space within the plastics (pollution) theme one of the most interesting ones to watch. Bioplastic alternatives, with few exceptions are often too expensive to be broadly competitive on the mass market without significant policy support.
  • As such, it will fall to the recycling industry to step up and address consumers growing concerns regarding plastics in the short/ mid-term.
  • The main focus however will be on the packaging industry (rather than industrial applications of plastic), where single-use plastics still make up a significant proportion of plastics used.

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