Thirty global companies have collaborated to form the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), which aims to help end plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean
The AEPW has committed more than US$1.0bn with the goal to invest US$1.5bn over the next five years to help reduce plastic waste.
The alliance will develop and scale solutions that minimise and manage plastic waste and promote solutions for used plastics by contributing to a circular economy.
The alliance is a not-for-profit organisation that includes companies that make, use, sell, process, collect, and recycle plastics. This includes chemical and plastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies, retailers, converters, and waste management companies, also known as the plastics value chain.
The founding members of the alliance are BASF, Berry Global, Braskem, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, Clariant, Covestro, Dow, DSM, ExxonMobil, Formosa Plastics Corporation, U.S.A., Henkel, LyondellBasell, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, Mitsui Chemicals, NOVA Chemicals, OxyChem, PolyOne, Procter & Gamble, Reliance Industries, SABIC, Sasol, SUEZ, Shell, SCG Chemicals, Sumitomo Chemical, Total, Veolia, and Versalis (Eni).
David Taylor, chairman of the Board, president and CEO of Procter & Gamble, and chairman of the AEPW, said, “Everyone agrees that plastic waste does not belong in our oceans or anywhere in the environment. This is a complex and serious global challenge that calls for swift action and strong leadership. This new alliance is the most comprehensive effort to date to end plastic waste in the environment.”
“I urge all companies, big and small and from all regions and sectors, to join us,” he added.
Bob Patel, CEO of LyondellBasell, and a vice chairman of the AEPW, noted, “History has shown us that collective action and partnerships between industry, governments and NGOs can deliver innovative solutions to a global challenge like this.”
“The issue of plastic waste is seen and felt all over the world. It must be addressed and we believe the time for action is now,” he stated.
The AEPW will make additional investments and drive progress in four main areas: infrastructure development to collect and manage waste and increase recycling; innovation to advance and scale new technologies that make recycling and recovering plastics easier and create value from all post-use plastics; education and engagement of governments, businesses, and communities to mobilise action; and the clean up of concentrated areas of plastic waste already in the environment, particularly the major conduits of waste, like rivers, that carry land-based plastic waste to the sea.
