Despite Industry Lies & Bribes, Single-Use Plastics Are On The Wane
More companies are turning away from single-use plastics as public consciousness about plastic pollution increases.
Source: cleantechnica.com
More companies are turning away from single-use plastics as public consciousness about plastic pollution increases.
Source: cleantechnica.com
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A 15-pound Congestion Charge in central London also applies between 0700 and 2200 BST, although exemptions apply. Cities and nations around the world have plans to ban, restrict or impose levies on combustion engine-powered vehicles to cut pollution. London on Monday widened the area motorists with older and more polluting cars will have to pay 12.50 pounds ($17.25) to drive in, as part of efforts to improve air quality. The Ultra Low Emission Zone has already been operational in the city centre and will now apply up to the North and South Circular roads, stretching to Tottenham in the north and Brixton in the south. The charge affects petrol cars that do not meet at least Euro 4 standards, which became mandatory in 2005, and diesel cars not at Euro 6 levels or higher, in place since September 2015. A 15-pound Congestion Charge in central London also applies between 0700 and 2200 BST, although exemptions apply.
As a result of the new legislation, a series of products will be banned in the EU by 2021. The products which will be banned from all EU markets include single-use plastic cutlery such as forks, knives, spoons and chopsticks, single-use plastic plates and plastic straws.
This morning, French President Emmanuel Macron and Eastman (NYSE:EMN) Board Chair and CEO Mark Costa will jointly announce Eastman’s plan to invest up to $1 billion in a material-to-material molecular recycling facility in France. This facility would use Eastman’s polyester renewal technology to recycle up to 160,000 metric tonnes annually of hard-to-recycle plastic waste that is currently being incinerated.
The investment would recycle enough plastic waste annually to fill Stade de France national football stadium 2.5 times, while also creating virgin-quality material with a significantly lower carbon footprint. Eastman is the largest investor at this year’s “Choose France” event, which is focused on attracting foreign investment to France.
This multi-phase project includes units that would prepare mixed plastic waste for processing, a methanolysis unit to depolymerize the waste, and polymer lines to create a variety of first-quality materials for specialty, packaging, and textile applications. Eastman also plans to establish an innovation center for molecular recycling that would enable France to sustain a leadership role in the circular economy.
Environment groups criticized the resolution, saying the approach to prevent single-use and throw-away packaging is missing.