The plastic-obsessed Laundromat is always on the lookout for some good news on the ongoing crisis involving the ubiquitous but highly damaging material. This column has regularly highlighted the impressive efforts of the industry-led and inaptly named Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) to publicise futile waste management projects while ramping up production of raw plastics. The announcement on 30 September 2024 that A.P. Moller Holding is stumping up €1.5 billion for a new fossil-free plastic production facility to be located in Antwerp, Belgium should therefore be music to the Laundromat’s ears.
A.P. Moller Holding is the parent company of the Copenhagen headquartered A.P. Moller Group that in its own words maintains a “focused portfolio of companies with a positive impact on society.” The new plastics venture has been named Vioneo and aims to produce around 300,000 tonnes of fossil-free polypropylene and polyethylene annually, which it claims will lead to a 1.5-million-ton reduction in CO2 emissions. Commenting on the project launch, Chair of the Board of Directors of the new company Jan Secher said: “Vioneo represents a strategic shift in plastics production. By adopting advanced proven technologies and green methanol, we are addressing fundamental environmental challenges associated with conventional plastics, while simultaneously offering a significant opportunity for Europe to lead the defossilisation of the €5 trillion global chemicals and materials sector, securing a leading position for Europe in the transition. We are excited about the potential to lead this transformation and contribute to a more sustainable future for the plastics industry.”
This being the Laundromat, there is bound to be a “but” coming up. But first of all, let us give credit where credit is due. By substituting the fossil fuel-based feedstocks used in plastic production with ethanol derived from entirely renewable sources like sugar cane, sugar beet, or wheat grain, the resulting material’s carbon footprint is drastically reduced. The source crops absorb more CO2 while growing than is emitted during the production process, resulting in a net gain. Biopolyethylene is also chemically equivalent to its fossil-based cousin and can therefore be recycled in the same process. This latter ‘advantage’ raises the first “but.”
The petrochemical feedstock of most raw plastic is but one of many problems with the material. Eliminating fossil fuels from the production process does not help address the plastic waste crisis. Far too much single-use plastic is being produced, and this will not be resolved with biopolyethylene. The recyclability of the material is a moot point in a world facing a fast-growing plastic waste mountain with average global recycling percentages in single figures. Is ethanol-based plastic to fossil-based plastic what methadone is to heroin? It should be really part of rehabilitation programme rather than a new addiction.
The other potential drawback of the proposed greener plastic is the need for vast amounts of source crops. The resulting intensive agriculture can contribute to deforestation and will typically involve heavy use of fertilisers and pesticides. To be fair to A.P. Moller, the company states that Vioneo aims to establish a fully segregated and traceable supply chain, avoiding the mixing of non-certified and certified feedstocks. Nevertheless, the biomass and biofuels industries have not been able to escape the related land use issues.
Vioneo aims to produce 300,000 tonnes of plastic per annum. That represents just over 0.06% of the more than 460 million tonnes of plastic produced each year. Yes, one must start somewhere, but how can ethanol-based plastic be scaled up sufficiently without hitting the land-use buffers? In its new Policy Scenarios for Eliminating Plastic Pollution by 2040 report published on 2 October 2024, the OECD states that biobased plastics production is projected to increase, although at a slower rate than total plastics production. Overall, its share as a fraction of total plastics production remains marginal (0.5% in 2040) in the OECD’s baseline scenario. Nevertheless, bioplastics may address the fact that total elimination of plastics is highly unlikely and probably undesirable. In its lively online interactions with fossil fuel industry advocates, the Laundromat has often been presented with very long – and highly patronising – lists of plastics present in a whole range of everyday and specialised products. These are presented as a killer argument against a supposedly extreme anti-plastic bias. Plastic will obviously remain in use for many years, for example in medical or technical applications, so perhaps this is where bioplastics will work best despite their low production levels.
The final damper on this new project comes in the form of the chemicals used in the production of the final plastic products. While the ethanol-based raw material has much better environmental credentials than its petroleum sourced equivalent, the same chemicals are employed when manufacturing the end products. A broad range of additives is used to obtain the desired flexibility, colour, and durability of the final product. The Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty has been trying to draw attention to the roughly 16,000 such chemicals used in plastic production. 4,200 of these are demonstrably hazardous and – just as worryingly – 10,000 more remain to be properly assessed.
The Vioneo project is to be applauded, but the real solution to the crisis will more likely hinge on the ongoing negotiations for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. The next and supposedly final round (INC-5) will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea from 25 November to 1 December. Good luck to them, and try to keep the AEPW distracted elsewhere.
Meanwhile, let us finish on a more positive note. Laundromat regular ExxonMobil, upstanding member of the AEPW and the world’s largest producer of fossil fuel based raw virgin plastic is being dragged in front of the courts by the People of the State of California. To quote the 147-page 23 September 2024 court filing: “The plastics industry, through its deceptive public messaging regarding plastic recycling, is responsible for one of the most devastating global environmental crises of our time: the plastic waste and pollution crisis. ExxonMobil, the largest producer of plastic polymers used to manufacture single-use plastics, caused or substantially contributed to the deluge of plastic pollution that has harmed and continues to harm California’s environment, wildlife, natural resources, and people. ExxonMobil not only promotes and produces the largest amount of plastic that becomes plastic waste in California, it has also deceived Californians for almost half a century by promising that recycling could and would solve the ever-growing plastic waste crisis. All the while, ExxonMobil has known that mechanical recycling, and now ‘advanced recycling,’ will never be able to process more than a tiny fraction of the plastic waste it produces.”
Will this be the beginning of the end of the trail for petrochemical plastics? This week the Laundromat is definitely California Dreaming.
