According to a report by Circular, transforming the linear plastic economy into a fully circular economy faces multiple challenges. According to the report "Plastic Discovery: Optimizing the Recycling Plastic Value Chain", the report summarizes six key points of recyclability, including the following six key points:
1.Plastics is a huge and necessary industry, located at an environmental crossroads.
2.Sustainable development provides an undervalued economic opportunity.
3.Market fluctuations can suppress long-term investment.
4.The downwind has driven the growth of recycled plastics.
5.The adverse wind has slowed down the adoption rate of recycled plastics.
6.The industry needs technology based solutions to make the green premium tend to zero.
The report emphasizes that there are both environmental and economic incentives to promote the move towards a circular economy. From an environmental perspective, reducing the demand for plastic in the ocean is obvious. However, according to the report, if not developed towards a more circular economic model, plastic production will generate over 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2040, equivalent to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and 86% of plastic production will be buried, burned or leaked. In addition, perhaps the most noteworthy thing is that Microplastics now exist in the human body. The World Wildlife Fund reports that the average person consumes 5 grams of plastic per week.
In addition, according to the report, there are many economic reasons why turning to a circular economy can still benefit people in the plastic industry. The industry is still growing, with a global plastic industry scale of $600 billion and is expected to grow to over $800 billion by 2030. At the same time, the global recycling rate is less than 9%, and the market size is $50 billion. This indicates that the circular market has not been fully developed to a certain extent and there is still some room for growth. As is well known, the market for recycled plastics is highly volatile. According to reports, the average price doubled from 2020 to 2021, and then halved from 2021 to 2022.
According to the report and general consensus, multiple factors are slowing down the pace of progress towards a fully circular economy. Firstly, there is usability. According to this report, companies seeking to replace the original plastic with recycled plastic PCR during the manufacturing process cannot find the products they need. The opaque market and low simulation efficiency make large-scale purchases of PCR challenging. In addition, there is a large amount of high-quality (low pollution) waste plastic sorted, which is due to demand issues.
At present, the price of recycled plastic is twice that of original plastic, which is caused by classification, transportation, and processing costs, known as the "green premium". This makes big brands unwilling to invest in PCR.
The report also emphasizes that companies are concerned about the reliability of recycled materials, as common impurities or contamination in resins after consumption can affect the color, physical properties, and odor of the materials.
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(The copy and images are from the online website of China Plastics）
