OECD Green Talks LIVE - Rethinking Plastics in a Disposable Society

OECD Green Talks LIVE - Rethinking Plastics in a Disposable Society

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  RETHINKING PLASTIC RECYCLING INA DISPOSABLE SOCIETY Peter Börkey, OECD Environment Directorate OECD #GreenTalks LIVE 23 January 2019 @OECD_ENV
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  Global plastics production1950-2015 Source: Geyer, Jambeck and Law, 2017
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  Plastic waste isgrowing Geyer et al (2017), Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made, Science Advances, http://bit.ly/2uBs8AT
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  Plastics production vswaste generation by polymer 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 PP LDPE, LLDPE PP&A fibres HDPE PVC PET PUR PS Additives (est.) Other AmountMt/annum Packaging Textiles Building and Construction Consumer & Institutional Products Transportation Electrical/ Electronic Industrial Machinery Other Accumulation Geyer et al (2017), Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made, Science Advances, http://bit.ly/2uBs8AT
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  Source: epSos.de; http://www.flickr.com/photos/36495803@N05/5444678656/ Wasteplastic generates environmental impacts
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  Plastics: policy approaches Waste reduction Substitution Design Collection and treatment
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  Recycled plastics marketshare is small Source: Geyer et al. 2017 (data is for resins only) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Virgin plastic Recycled plastic
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  Demand side issues: Secondaryplastics compete with virgin material 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 PriceUSD/tonne rHDPE bottles clear Crude oil Opec basket (EUR/t) Waste HDPE price usually follows crude oil price WRAP (2017), Materials pricing report, http://bit.ly/ZrfCR3
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  Lack of differentiateddemand 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 PriceUSD/tonne Cotton rPET bottles clear Crude oil Opec basket (EUR/t) PET price decouples from crude oil price PET price follows cotton price more closely as it is used as a substitute textile (mainly) in ChinaWRAP (2017), Materials pricing report, http://bit.ly/ZrfCR3
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  Restrictions to tradein waste have recently intensified - Plastics Monthly exports of plastics waste from the EU by destination: 2016 to 2018 Source: Eurostat, 2018 0 100000 200000 300000 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Apr-17 May-17 Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17 Oct-17 Nov-17 Dec-17 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 Apr-18 May-18 Jun-18 Jul-18 Aug-18 Sep-18 Exports(tonees) China Hong Kong (China) India Indonesia Malaysia Pakistan Chinese Taipei Thailand United States Viet Nam
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  Policy interventions onthe demand side • recycled content product labels • public procurement • recycled content rules • tax on virgin plastics
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  Supply-side quality issuesincrease costs • Combination of polymers makes recycling difficult • Post consumer plastics contaminated with non- recyclables. • Concerns over hazardous or otherwise problematic additives • A lack of transparency Photo: Cook, 2017
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  Uncollected plastics limitsscale of secondary plastics markets • 2 billion people do currently not have access to basic waste collection. • Uncontrolled dumping and burning of municipal wastes. • This involves a loss of material and a loss of potential scale efficiencies Photo: Cook, 2017 Photo: Lerpiniere, 2017 Photo: Lerpiniere, 2017 Photo: Lerpiniere, 2017
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  Limited market resilienceincreases risks • Secondary sector characterised by many small actors who are vulnerable to market shocks. • Primary producers are 10 times bigger. • Global plastics markets have historically been concentrated in a small number of countries • Effects of China import restrictions illustrate the risks of market concentration. Primary plastics Secondary plastics Photo: Cook, 2017 Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Walter Siegmund, 2008
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  Policy interventions onthe supply side • introduction of dual or multiple stream collection systems • extended producer responsibility and deposit-refund systems • restrictions on the use of hazardous additives • incentives for better plastics design • ODA for waste collection and treatment in developing countries • efforts to work with the informal sector
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  Thanks for yourattention [email protected]
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  The next OECDGreen Talks LIVE will discuss: Global Material Resources Outlook to 2060 Registration soon available at: bit.ly/OECDGreenTalks 19 Thank you for joining us #GreenTalks @OECD_ENV