The analysis behind the projections in Exhibit 6 in today's daily report, likely makes more assumptions than just the level of reusable plastics. To get the waste reduction projected, there will still need to be a step up in collection, sorting and recycling and it will all need to work to get the results desired. We are still concerned that these “high recycle” plans ask too much of an unwilling public, a slow to move average packager, and underfunded municipalities.
We are increasingly convinced that a maximum “chemical recycling” strategy has more chance of dealing with plastic waste than a maximum “mechanical recycling” strategy. With many of the ESG objectives there is an important distinction between the ideal path and the most practical path, if they both achieve the same objective. The real issue is plastic waste - not plastics recycling rates - and if waste can be dealt with efficiently we should not be focused on how much plastic is produced. See our ESG and climate report from a couple of weeks ago for more on this.