A plastic world

Single-use plastics epitomises the current global plastic crisis. Not only do they account for a third of the plastics produced, they also account for the vast majority of the plastics dumped in landfills, oceans, and the environment in general. However, government policies tend to focus on the vast number of companies that sell finished plastic products, while paying little attention to the few businesses at the base of the supply chain that make ‘polymers’—the building blocks of all plastics—almost exclusively from fossil fuels.

These companies are the source of single-use plastics, and produce new ‘virgin’ polymers from oil, gas and coal, instead of recycling the millions of tonnes of plastics that are thrown away every year, which would help create a ‘circular’ production cycle. The economies of scale for fossil fuel-based production undermine a transition to a circular plastic economy, thus discouraging waste collection rates, end-of-life management of products and plastic pollution rates. According to the report, the focus needs to be on producing recycled polymers from plastic waste, on re-use models and on alternative substitute materials.

...where they break down into tiny particles that impact wildlife health, and the ocean’s ability to store carbon. Single-use plastics contain chemical additives such as plasticisers that have been found in humans and are linked to a range of reproductive health problems.

...that single-use plastic will contribute by 2050 if their growth in production continues at current rates.

...that accounted for more than half of all single-use plastic waste generated across the world in 2019; the top 100 producers accounted for 90%.

...ExxonMobil and Dow (in the US) top the list, followed by China-based Sinopec.

...that 20 institutional asset managers, led by US companies Vanguard Group, BlackRock and Capital Group hold in parent companies of polymer producers. 

...including Barclays, HSBC and Bank of America, for the production of polymers since 2011.