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Plastic Soup Foundation Does Not Sign the European Plastic Pact
2 April 2020
Today, 15 European countries and 66 companies have signed the European Plastic Pact in Brussels. The aim of the agreement is to reduce the use of plastic and promote recycling. The European Plastic Pact is an initiative of France and the Netherlands and builds on the Plastic Pact of the Dutch government a year ago.
The aim of the European Plastic Pact is to produce 20% less plastic by 2025. there should be less new plastic and more old plastic should be used as a raw material for new products. This is a fine aim, but despite this, a number of European environmental organisations, united in Break Free From Plastic coalition, have decided not to sign the Plastic Pact. Plastic Soup Foundation is one of them.
Objections to the pact
The main objections are:
- The European Plastic Pact is based on the idea of the circular economy. The overarching suggestion is that we can master the plastic soup by recycling better and more. Recycling encounters many technical and practical objections and a lot of plastic still ends up in the environment.
- The pact is entirely voluntary. There are no sanctions for the signatories if targets are not met. There is a risk that the agreement will stand in the way of national and European laws and regulations, because the suggestion is made that the plastic soup is already being adequately combated.
- Producers of plastics, such as Shell, have not signed the pact. Big Oil is investing heavily in new plastics. Without the commitment of the plastic producers, the pact makes little sense.
- The pact pays relatively little attention to the problem of harmful chemicals in plastic. The intention is to recycle discarded plastic, but the problem is that current recycling methods cannot remove those substances from the plastic.
- Environmental organisations were not consulted when the pact was being drawn up.
Big Oil = Big Plastic
The European Plastic Pact has not been signed by plastic producers. Plastic is a petrochemical product and producers have no interest in reduction. Shell will take a new plastic factory into use this year in Pennsylvania in the United States. The 6 billion euro plant converts ethane gas, a by-product of shale gas, into ethylene. More than one and a half billion kilos of polyethylene will be produced annually. This basic raw material will be processed into a semi-finished product in the form of nurdles, from which all kinds of plastic products will be made.
According to a report by the International Energy Agency in 2018, attempts by governments to limit the use of single-use plastics fall short of the sharp increase in the consumption of plastic, particularly in developing countries. The IEA report predicts that ethane production will increase by 70% by 2030. Big Oil is investing heavily in plastic production. This is an interesting market for them, which should compensate for the declining income from the sale of oil and petrol, as a result of the energy transition.
Concerned scientists
In an open letter to be published tomorrow by Algemeen Dagblad, a group of critical academics states that ‘from the perspective of future generations, it is too cynical that Shell is seeking refuge in activities that cause another environmental disaster: the production of plastics’.
The letter ends with an appeal: ‘We, a group of concerned scientists and experts, are deeply concerned about Shell’s mega-investments in the plastics industry. We call on Shell and the banks, insurers and pension funds investing in Shell to stop their irresponsible investments in plastics, and call on Shell to sign the European Plastic Pact. We call on the Dutch government to formulate (and comply with) policy to prevent investments in the production of new plastic. And we call on Dutch citizens to raise their voices’.
The letter is co-signed by Maria Westerbos, director of the Plastic Soup Foundation.
Listen here to the radio interview of BNR ‘Ask Me Anything’, with among others Maria Westerbos as guest.
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