Sustainability, Energy Transition, ESG

Rules and Ideals vs Objectives – Should All Plastic Be Recycled?
November 10, 2023
Companies Mentioned:
Rethink Plastic, UNIFI, Air Products, OMV, Topsoe, ExxonMobil, Tallgrass Energy, Linde, Bloom Energy, Interzero, Nio, BASF, Borealis
Commodities Mentioned:
Recycled Polymers, R-PET, Plastic Waste, Plastics, Hydrogen, Syngas, CO2, Renewable Fuels, SAF, Ammonia, RNG, Methane, Solar, Hydro
Subjects Covered:
Recycling, Renewables, Carbon Capture, Emissions, New Energy, The Hydrogen Economy, ESG Investing, Climate Litigation, Clean Fuels

C-MACC Weekly Sustainability and Energy Transition Report

Rules and Ideals vs Objectives – Should All Plastic Be Recycled?

  • Not enough consumers want to pay higher prices for recycled polymers, placing a low value on the hydrogen content – could fuel subsidies attract polymer waste?
  • It seems counter-intuitive, but where recycling costs are very high, hydrogen as syngas may win, especially if it can attract fuel or power-related incentives.
  • Participants should focus more on all mechanisms to avoid plastic waste and re-use in environmentally and economically optimal ways – more than just recycling.
  • The green lobby wants plastics eliminated rather than recycled, making recycling incentives appear unlikely – we will likely see more consumer mandates to recycle.
  • Otherwise, we look at more potential company failures and why Air Products strategy is less popular – we also critique the latest EIA forecast as misleading.

See PDF below for all charts, tables and diagrams


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