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Journalists go undercover to expose criminals in the plastic recycling business. They discover Canadian firms that are illegally exporting waste plastic to Malaysia where it’s dumped or burned, killing people and poisoning the land. The news team tracks plastic waste, showing how companies are exploiting loopholes in recycling laws.
Where does your recycled plastic go? Most of it ends up getting shipped to Asia – countries with very poor recycling facilities. Inevitably, it’s burned, dumped in landfills or ends up in the ocean. Governments are bringing in measures to restrict our use of plastic, but do these laws helping or are they making things worse?
The consumer movement against plastic packaging is gathering momentum, and companies are beginning to respond. We take a closer look at some of the more innovative products available, including reusable takeaway cups and compostable packaging. Meanwhile, as part of its sustainable strategy, food giant Nestlé is looking to create plastic that’s easier to recycle.
The world produces around 50 million tonnes of e-waste every year and that could double by 2050. We need to extract e-waste’s valuable parts more efficiently, develop the second-hand market for e-products, and stop constantly upgrading our phones, tablets, and laptops.
The world is transitioning away from fossil fuels, but oil and gas companies are looking towards a new growth market – plastic. Producers like ExxonMobil, Sinopec and Dow Chemical are planning for growth but consumers are fed up with plastic waste, and governments around the world are considering limits to plastic production.
What’s the plastics circular economy? It’s a sustainable model where plastics remain in circulation longer and are reused and recycled at the end of their life. Helped by tech innovation, consumer demand, and government policy, it’s now an opportunity for investors.
There’s a problem, though.
Typically, recycled plastic (for example, bottles or packaging) is remade into lower-value products such as carpet fibre. This loss of value is due to the limits of sorting and cleaning technology.