Plastics News
Current Trending Topics in the News with Links to Articles:
- Governmental and Lobbying:
Trump’s win means changes in plastics environmental, trade policies
A second Donald Trump administration seems certain to bring changes to Washington on environmental and trade policy that impact the plastics industry.
The most immediate may be how the U.S. approaches the global plastics treaty, which has its fifth and final scheduled negotiating session in late November in South Korea.
Beyond that, Trump’s appointees could put forward big policy changes on chemical recycling, single-use plastics procurement and other areas at key agencies.
On economic policy, Trump has said he plans much bigger tariffs than enacted in his first term. For the plastics treaty, a Trump presidency could throw confusion into the U.S. negotiating position at the talks in South Korea.
EPA strategy to fight plastic pollution embraces EPR, a focus on health impacts
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is calling for the creation of a national extended producer responsibility (EPR) framework for plastics, an increased emphasis on the environmental and health impacts for communities near plastics plants and a more thorough accounting of plastics that end up in waterways.
The proposals are part of the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution released Nov. 21 by President Joe Biden’s administration.
“EPA’s new strategy to prevent plastic pollution will have a profound impact on public health and our environment, especially in overburdened communities hit hardest,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in an overview of the policy. “From reducing cancer-causing pollution from plastic manufacturing facilities, to increasing industry’s accountability to take back recycled plastic packaging, to capturing waste before it ends up in our bodies and the environment, this strategy lays out the path forward for EPA and our partners to tackle this persistent challenge.”
It remains unclear what an incoming Donald Trump administration will do with the strategy. Trump’s pick for EPA chief is Lee Zeldin, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives who said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he is ready to work “to unleash U.S. energy dominance.”
Resin industry prioritizes treaty language that boosts investments, halts production caps
As the last planned negotiations for the plastics treaty prepare to open in South Korea, plastics materials makers from companies including Braskem, BASF and CP Chem are pushing for an agreement that sends investment signals to support their recycling plans but avoids caps or taxes on resin production.
In a media briefing in the runup to the talks, which open Nov. 25 in Busan, those firms and leaders from the International Council of Chemical Associations pointed to recycled-content mandates, extended producer responsibility laws and recycling rate targets as key provisions for a treaty.
“We hope that an agreement in Busan would accelerate a circular economy for plastics, where plastics are designed for reuse and recycling and then remade into new plastics,” said Chris Jahn, council secretary at the ICCA and president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council.
Plastics Europe pushes for an ambitious agreement to end plastic pollution
As the final Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) meeting gets ready to kick off in Busan, South Korea, on Nov. 25, efforts to form an internationally binding agreement to eliminate plastic pollution by 2040 have reached a critical juncture.
Plastics Europe and its members recognize that any plastic waste in the environment is unacceptable, said Virginia Janssens, managing director of Plastics Europe. “We appreciate the challenging nature of the negotiations but believe that if negotiators stay focused on identifying common solutions, an agreement can be reached. We must seize this historic opportunity.”
She went on to say that transitioning to a circular plastics system, in which all plastics applications are reused, recycled and responsibly managed, is the key to tackling the problem of plastic waste and reach a successful agreement.
- Features and News Articles:
PepsiCo: The world needs a global plastics treaty
https://www.plasticsnews.com/perspective/pepsico-says-world-needs-global-plastics-treaty
Governments have a generational opportunity to address the global challenge of plastic waste next week, when they gather for the fifth and final time to negotiate a United Nations Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution.
Establishing global rules to address this global challenge makes sense, not only for governments but business as well. They give certainty and clarity and help ensure that industry and governments work together to address issues that go beyond any one organization.
As a member of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastic Treaty, PepsiCo Inc. is advocating for an ambitious and effective treaty. Such a treaty could advance key system shifts across supply chains, business models, infrastructure and policy, and, in doing so, support the future of both sustainable packaging and the circular economy. It is crucial to find solutions together across stakeholder groups, and across geographies. That is what can be achieved through a legally binding global treaty.
Commodity resin prices cool off in October
https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/commodity-resin-prices-drop-october
Temperatures, leaves and commodity resin prices all fell in North America in October.
Regional prices for all grades of polyethylene were down an average of 3 cents per pound for the month. Drivers for that decrease were sagging demand and rising inventory levels. Market sources said PE production was flat for October even as inventories swelled by 235 million pounds. That brought the amount PE inventories have increased in the last three months to 750 million pounds.
PE buyers had been looking for price drops in August and September, but resin makers were able to keep prices flat. Based on previous price moves, regional PE prices are up an average of 10 cents per pound so far in 2024.
Exports of PE resin from the U.S. and Canada reached an all-time high of 44.7 percent of total production in 2023. The export rate was slightly higher at 45.4 percent in the first ten months of 2024.
There’s some concern among PE market watchers that tariffs on imports proposed by the incoming Trump administration could impact U.S. PE exports by leading other countries to place retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports, including PE resin.
PE, PET resin prices drop as demand dips
https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/pe-pet-prices-drop-demand-dips
Gravity caught up to the polyethylene resin market in October, sending North American prices down an average of 3 cents per pound.
Regional prices for PET bottle resin also continued to fall in October, sliding down another 4 cents per pound.
For PE, drivers for the decrease were sagging demand and rising inventory levels. Market sources said PE production was flat for October, even as inventories swelled by 235 million pounds. That brought total increase in PE inventories for the last three months to 750 million pounds.
Regional PE buyers had been looking for price drops in August and September, but resin makers were able to keep prices flat. Supply concerns over brief outages caused by Hurricane Beryl played a role in a 5-cent July price hike. But market forces changed direction in October.
PVC bucks the European resin market’s bearish price trend
https://www.plasticsnews.com/resin-pricing/pvc-bucks-bearish-price-trend
Standard thermoplastics producers in Europe have attempted to improve their underperforming margins over the last two months, but, with the exception of PVC, have largely been unsuccessful because of persistent low demand and adequate supply.
PVC bucked the broader market trend last month with settlements ranging from a rollover to a small price increase month-on-month. This surprising resilience can be attributed to the margin recovery attempts by producers that have been keeping the momentum tilted to the upside over the previous few months.
Last month, low density polyethlene prices fell by €30 per metric ton while LLDPE and HDPE prices were down by €40 per tonne compared with the €32.5 per tonne reduction for the ethylene contract price. Polypropylene prices were down by €40 per tonne against the €35 per tonne drop for the propylene contract price. Polystyrene prices plunged in line with the €202 per tonne collapse in the styrene monomer reference price. PET prices tumbled by €100 per tonne in October because of low-season demand, ample supply and falling feedstock costs.
Polymer Points Live November 2024: Polyethylene prices fall in October
https://www.plasticsnews.com/livestreams/commodity-resin-prices-fall-now-including-polyethylene
Prices for all commodity resins fell in October, with the latest news being a 3 cent drop in North American polyethylene prices.
PN Senior Reporter Frank Esposito covered the changes in the November Polymer Points Live editorial livestream (see video below).
Esposito said buyers had been expecting the decrease, since there is plenty of PE resin on hand. “It’s a return to the traditional October of lower prices in the fall,” he said.
PN will show the drop on its resin pricing chart on Nov. 21, and in the Nov. 25 print issue.
Prices of polypropylene, PVC and polystyrene also fell in October. Recycled PET bucked the trend, however, showing an increase fueled by demand from bottled water suppliers and companies trying to meet sustainability targets.
Mergers & Acquisition Tracker
Updated list of merger and acquisition deals within the plastics industry. Details include the buyer and the company or assets being purchased, along with a link to read more about each transaction.
- Recycling and Sustainability:
Real challenge in plastics recycling is economics, not capacity
https://www.plasticsnews.com/perspective/real-challenge-plastics-recycling-economics-not-capacity
Elizabeth Carroll’s remarks in your story on the challenges facing plastics recycling (“Lack of recycling capacity continues to stymie sustainability goals,” Nov. 15) correctly points out that growth in plastics recycling is facing challenges. However, the problem is not primarily about insufficient capacity — it’s about economics.
The reality is that mechanical recyclers already have ample capacity to significantly increase the amount of plastics recycled. This capacity remains underutilized because the economics are out of alignment. The issue isn’t a lack of infrastructure; rather, brand companies are unwilling to pay recyclers prices that make the economics viable when lower-cost virgin resin can be used for the same packaging.
If brand companies truly want to meet the ambitious sustainability goals they’ve set, they need to commit to paying a fair price for recycled material. Without this financial commitment, recycling facilities cannot operate at their full potential, and the industry’s growth will stagnate.
Upcoming Events:
Plastics News Executive Forum
Hilton La Jolla, Torrey Pines
La Jolla, CA
March 10-11, 2025
For details and to register: https://www.plasticsnewsevents.com/event/d8450920-6038-4f9b-b0d3-2d438472b570/summary?utm_term=Home&utm_campaign=EF2025NavBar&utm_medium=Onsite&utm_content=Home&utm_source=PNMKT_Dedicated
Plastics Recycling World Magazine
Link to November/December Issue:
https://content.yudu.com/web/1rl19/0A42x3p/PRWNov24/html/index.html?origin=reader
Color fidelity: targeting accuracy in PCR plastics
New colorants, equipment, and measuring technologies address variability and sortability. PCR carriers for color masterbatches have also been launched.
New technologies for sorting mixed PCR can provide single-color streams, which greatly aids consistency of the incoming material, In addition, new technologies for measurement and control offer tools for more precisely matching color and for correcting the variability often found in PCR.
Finding consistency using in-line rheology control
For compounds containing recycled plastics to be used in high-value applications, they need to be as consistent in quality as compounds based entirely on virgin polymers. That is a major challenge for companies reprocessing post-consumer material with all its variability in quality. Meet your new best friend: an in-line rheometer – this is the basis of the new offerings from European institutes aiming to help compounders smooth out the variations of recycled content.
Distributors increase profits in harsh market conditions
In polymer supply, Europe is increasingly becoming a distributors’ market. Producer partnerships are key to success.
Novel technologies advance PET recycling
Microwave treatment and enzyme-based depolymerization represent emerging technology advances in recycling methods for waste PET. The innovative approaches to decontaminating and purifying waste PET materials also promote energy savings and an environmental reduction.
Upcoming Events:
Plastics Recycling Technology
June 10 – 11, 2025.
Long Beach, CA
Information and Registration: https://www.ami-events.com/event/8663c550-b6d5-496e-9ca3-15f9fd54094e/summary?RefId=Advert_AMI_magazine
