Plastics and polymer recycling is good for business, and good for the planet. It’s a win-win situation.
In order for a product or material to be described as truly sustainable it must be environmentally, economically and socially sustainable. These aspects have become known as the Three Pillars of Sustainability. Plastics make a positive contribution to all three pillars of sustainability.
Plastics make an immense contribution to the environmental sustainability through their energy saving potential and intrinsic recyclability and energy recovery options. Socially the plastics industry is a major and inclusive employer with an attention to training and education.
The consumption and production of plastic involves the use of large quantities of fossil fuels, which has negative implications not only for the environment, but also for climate change.
If the production and use of plastics continue to increase as expected, the plastics industry will account for 20% of global oil consumption by 2050, an increase from the current 7%. Greenhouse gas inventory data shows that annual emissions related to plastic production in the EU amount to around 13.4 million tonnes of CO2, or around 20% of chemical industry emissions across the EU countries.
To produce 1 kg of plastic (produced using natural gas or crude oil), the equivalent amount of CO2 emitted is about 6-8 kg. This means that to create 1 kg of plastic, about 6-8 kg of CO2 are released into the atmosphere. The production of post-consumer recycled plastics on the other hand, emits about 5 times less CO2 (compared to those produced using natural gas or crude oil).
