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

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