LyondellBasell is Tackling the Ocean Crisis with Closed Loop Infrastructure
The ocean crisis should be of great concern to us all – especially those of us in a position to actually do something about it. Increasing volumes of pollution and rising oceanic temperatures have the potential to seriously destabilise the fragile balance of nature on our planet.
In 2021, we recorded the hottest ocean temperatures on record – the sixth consecutive year the record has been broken – and experts say it’s only going to get worse. Our oceans absorb 33% of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity and the increasing amounts of this gas being produced is causing them to acidify, destroying coral reefs and ruining delicate ecosystems.
As one of the largest producers of harmful plastics, the chemical industry obviously has a role to play in addressing this crisis and some brands are going the extra mile to close the loop when it comes to recycling this potentially harmful material.
LyondellBasell
As one of the largest plastics, chemicals, and refining companies in the world, LyondellBasell understands its responsibility in this regard all too well. To answer the call to action the Dutch chemical giant has joined with other industry heavyweights to create a new closed loop ecosystem for plastics recycling.
Together with Dow and NOVA chemicals, LyondellBasell has created the Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund.
The fund is designed to facilitate investment in scalable recycling technologies, equipment upgrades and infrastructure solutions. With an initial investment of $25 million and managed by industry experts Closed Loop Partners, the fund will invite businesses at every link in the plastics value chain to come together and work to develop new solutions in advancing the recovery and recycling of plastics across the US and Canada.
“The goal of the catalytic fund is to grow to deploy $100 million, through a combination of the Fund's founding investors, additional corporate investors and financial institutions, in order to attract additional capital beyond the Fund's own commitments,” said LyondellBasell in a press release. “At scale, the Fund’s investments aim to recycle over 500 million pounds of plastic over the Fund’s lifespan. The Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund will invest in three strategic areas to increase the amount of recycled plastic available to meet the growing demand for high-quality, recycled content in products and packaging.”
Closed Loop Recycling
The three strategic areas proposed by the fund will focus on access, optimisation, and manufacturing to cover every angle of the plastics lifecycle and give the endeavour the best chance of capturing the most value from a recycling effort.
Access: Increasing the collection of targeted polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plastics by advancing current and next-generation material collection systems, including transportation, logistics and recycling sortation technologies and infrastructure.
Optimization: Upgrading recycling systems to more efficiently aggregate, classify and sort the targeted plastics to increase the total amount of high-quality plastic, including food-grade and medical-grade plastic, sent for remanufacturing.
Manufacturing: Investing in facilities and equipment that manufacture finished products, packaging or related goods using recycled content, including recycled PE and PP. The Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund will build on the previous success achieved by Closed Loop Partners’ existing portfolio of more than 50 investments. Since its founding in 2014, Closed Loop Partners has been responsible for diverted more than 4,600 million pounds of material from landfills and back into manufacturing supply chains.
“Addressing the challenge of plastic waste in the environment requires collective action on multiple fronts. As a company, we have been executing a multi-pronged strategy that includes innovations in mechanical recycling, the advancement of molecular recycling technologies and the incorporation of renewable feedstocks into our manufacturing,” said former CEO of LyondellBasell, Bob Patel. “In addition to our company’s efforts, further enhancements to recycling infrastructure are critical to capturing the value of used plastics and advancing the circular economy.”
The Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund is part of a 2018 commitment from LyondellBasell to a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions per metric ton of product produced across its entire value chain – including in its logistics and transportation operation.
“The transport of raw materials across our supply chain provides another opportunity to reduce GHG emissions,” said the company. “We are engaged in an industry consortium led by Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, and the Smart Freight Centre to develop a practical methodology to better account for GHG emissions from our logistics operations. We are also working with our transportation partners to identify low-carbon solutions for the transport of raw materials and products.”
Final Thoughts
Fighting the detrimental effects of manmade climate change needs to be a serious priority for brands in the chemical industry moving forwards. Logistics operations in the space have the potential for great impact here by facilitating closed loop infrastructure, greener transportation options, and many more methods of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and plastic pollution.
You can hear LyondellBasell Director of Supply Chain, Europe & AFMEI, Mark Marston and Manager of Business Processes, Folkert Bloembergen speak at LogiChem 2022, being held in March at De Doelen ICC Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.