A number of major brands have said they intend to purchase around 800,000 tonnes per year of chemically recycled plastic by 2030.
Twelve members of the Consumer Goods Forum’s Coalition of Action on Plastic Waste have published a letter addressed to suppliers, regulators and investors that they intend to procure chemically recycled plastics produced in line with their environmental safeguards.
These brands are: Amcor, Barilla, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Ferrero, Haleon, Henkel, Mars, Incorporated, McCain Foods, Mondelēz International, PepsiCo and Unilever.
A wider survey of members of the Coalition indicates demand of 800,000 tonnes per year of chemically recycled plastic by 2030.
In a statement, it said: “The Coalition recognises that although chemical recycling technology is not a silver bullet, it will be an important technology which can serve a vital purpose for the recycling of unavoidable plastic waste which cannot be otherwise recycled mechanically…
“…By expressing their interest in procuring these materials, companies are sending a strong signal to regulators and investors of the need for scale in plastic chemical recycling infrastructure while meeting the necessary environmental safeguards laid out in the Coalition’s Vision and Principles paper.
“Demand for chemically recycled material does not reduce the need to continue the scale-up of mechanical recycling infrastructure. It is primarily focused on demand which cannot be met at scale by mechanically recycled materials today (eg food-contact flexible packaging applications).”
