Plastic production is doubly dependent on oil. In addition to energy uses (transport, electricity and thermal energy), crude oil is also the main raw material for the manufacture of plastics. European producers of plastic raw materials, gathered under the umbrella of the pan-European producer association Plastics Europe, have just presented a roadmap to move away from oil and other fossil fuels. “It is a step in the right direction because, unlike other industries, the plastics industry had not yet developed its roadmap,” says Joan Marc Simon, coordinator of the Zero Waste Europe organization.
In the outlined plan, it defines a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the European plastics ecosystem by 28% in 2030 and reach zero net emissions in 2050. At the same time, it predicts that the substitution of oil as a material premium will be made gradually, and could reach 25% of European demand in 2030 and 65% in 2050. All of this “will mean additional investments in the plastics industry of up to 235,000 million euros between now and 2050. ”says Alicia Martín, the general director of Plastics Europe in Iberia.
In reference to the decarbonization of the sector, the spokesperson for Zero Waste Europe warns that the speed at which greenhouse gas emissions reductions are implemented is not sufficient. “It is more important to decarbonize more quickly than to reach zero emissions in 2050 because then it may already be too late.” Alicia Martín recognizes that it is a transition that “will require time” and “joint work with the entire value chain” and with “political decision makers to create favorable political frameworks.”
Regarding the role of legislators, Joan Marc Simon warns of the need to “protect European borders” to avoid the “loss of competitiveness of the local industry”, as well as “the entry of plastic produced in third countries in worse conditions”. The director of the Plastics Technology Institute (Aimplas), José Antonio Costa, agrees with him: “The legislative context in Europe is going to be fundamental, which must find the balance between encouraging the necessary transformation, while preserving the competitiveness of the industry". It should be remembered that the roadmap is only limited to the European industry.
The general director of Plastics Europe in Iberia explains that a third of “decarbonization will be achieved thanks to circularity actions.” That is, the production of plastic from raw materials alternative to oil, such as plastics from recycling, produced from biomass or from the capture and use of carbon. “The sector is already working on it: between 2021 and 2022, the production of circular plastic increased by 30%,” says Alicia Martín. However, the coordinator of Zero Waste Europe warns that both “chemical recycling of plastic and carbon capture to convert it into raw material to make plastic are technologies that are not yet working on a large scale.” Unlike mechanical recycling, which is the majority, chemical recycling allows you to recycle plastics that now end up in incinerators or landfills.
The roadmap also includes the need to take measures to promote reuse and circular business models. However, it does not mention at any time the implementation of a packaging return system.
