Businesses will drive plastics circularity

This commentary appears in the fall 2021 issue of  Plastics Recycling. Read more from the issue.

By Ron Shinn 

Why didn’t we think of this sooner? 

Google, how do we solve the plastics recycling problem? 

Google answers that question with links to reputable publications, environmental groups, trade associations, universities, resin manufacturers and even LinkedIn. Missing — at least from the first two pages of results — is Google’s own research report titled “Closing the Plastics Circularity Gap.” The full report has not yet been released but an extensive executive summary was published in July. It takes a different look at plastics recycling. 

Google’s study concludes that business “will lead the change toward a circular economy, as the primary designers, builders and users of materials. Business can continue to improve product and packaging design, integrate recycled materials into products and packaging and support the innovation and engagement needed to further enable a circular economy for plastics.” 

The executive summary of the Google study has not received much attention, but I find it to be an even mix of alarm, data-based insight and reasonable suggestions, albeit from a 30,000-foot view. Should we care what Google thinks about recycling plastics? Yes, we should, probably more than we care about the latest report from an environmental group that uses outrageous examples to grab headlines. 

Here is a very brief review.  

Plastic pollution has become a problem because only about 9 percent of all plastic produced since 1950 has been recycled and returned back into the economy. 

Google admits that creating a circular economy for plastics is a large and complex goal. If we continue with business as usual, the amount of plastics being recycled will triple, but the amount being landfilled, incinerated or leaked into the environment will increase even more. That is the plastics circularity gap. 

But there are some positive factors, including consumer desire for increased recycling and reduced plastic waste; commitments from brands for recycling and recycled plastics; and early discussions and ongoing considerations to enact new policies to support plastics circularity. 

The report has several findings, but here is the most interesting one: Infrastructure is the key to unlock the potential for plastics circularity. A Google model estimates that today’s recycling systems need to expand existing capacity by five to six times by 2040 to accommodate an increasing amount of plastic. At the same time, chemical recycling needs to expand capacity by as much as 135 times. 

A huge investment, estimated at $25 billion (net present value) per year, in the entire supply chain is needed starting today to close the circularity gap. The report predicts it is possible to lower the cash cost of producing recycled resin compared to virgin resin. 

Forbes magazine columnist Rob Kaplan wrote that the Google study shows significant opportunities for investors.  

“Business and investment will lead the way towards a solution,” Kaplan wrote in July. “With a recycling value chain that is under pressure like never before, the need for investor engagement has never been greater.  

“The current challenges facing the value chain presents investors with a really unique opportunity to use their capital to steer the recycling industry back towards growth,” Kaplan said. 

I hope Google and Kaplan are correct and that their optimism is well-founded. The plastics recycling industry needs more of that. In the meantime, keep expanding your recycling operations. It looks like a good bet. 

Ron Shinn, editor

rshin[email protected]