Plastic Energy has published its 2023 sustainability report, documenting its commitment to plastics recycling and the circular economy.
The report outlines its sustainability strategy and goals, provides an overview of all the initiatives, progress, and projects and illustrates the instruments and measures used by Plastic Energy to fulfil its corporate responsibility in the areas of safety, planet, people, and governance.
The report says that Plastic Energy made ‘steady, solid progress’ throughout 2023 across its project portfolio. The UK-based chemical recycler highlighted the progress at two of its European joint ventures, which it said are now approaching completion. The first project was announced in 2020 and is a joint partnership with TotalEnergfies to build a 15,000 tonnes/year conversion facility in France. The second project was announced in 2018 and is a partnership with Sabic to build a pyrolysis plant in the Netherlands.
“All of this is made possible by the teams further advancing our technology through dedicated research and development.,” said Plastic Energy’s interim CEO Ian Temperton. “A boost to this work, which opened in 2023, is our new pilot plant in Loughborough. The site is instrumental in optimising our chemical recycling technology,” he added.
The report also spotlights three policy developments in the chemical recycling landscape. First, that the European Commission is considering adopting the mass balance fuel-exempt method for recycled content allocation in single-use plastic beverage bottles. Second, the EU’s adoption of mandatory recycled content targets for plastic packaging with the PPWR. And finally, the global plastics treaty which is expected to deliver a legally binding agreement on plastic pollution by the end of 2024.
“In 2023, we saw an increase in the number of policies setting higher plastic packaging recycled content targets, providing a clear incentive for the recycling market to scale up,” the report reads. “The ongoing development of the Global Plastics Treaty towards a global framework to tackle plastic pollution will harmonise rules for using plastics more sustainably. As the need for global recycling infrastructure grows, the number of chemical recycling projects being developed across the world is increasing to meet a higher demand of recycled polymers. Plastic Energy is committed to meeting the market demand for recycled polymers in the most sustainable way.”