The Coca-Cola Company has withdrawn from the Plastics Industry Association, and PepsiCo plans to leave at the end of 2019. The news was announced on 23 July by environmental group Greenpeace and confirmed by Dow Jones.
Greenpeace highlighted the trade association’s “secretive” lobbying against plastic bag bans. “Companies understand that they cannot publicly say they want to end plastic pollution, while financially supporting an association that lobbies for our continued reliance on throwaway plastics,” says a Greenpeace executive.
According to Dow Jones, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said that the company “withdrew earlier this year as a result of positions the organization was taking that were not fully consistent with our commitments and goals.”
The Plastics Industry Association acknowledges that Greenpeace has been pressuring prominent brands to leave the group.
“This is unfortunate — consumer brands are integral to making sustainability commitments into realities, by working with their suppliers to make lasting change,” says Patty Long, interim president and CEO. “Once again, we invite Greenpeace to work with us to help implement meaningful and sustainable advances to improve our environment, such as modernizing and expanding recycling infrastructure.”
By Clay Boswell
Source: Chemical Week
Eastman Chemical Co. (Kingsport, Tenn.) announced it has acquired Ai-Red Technology (Dalian) Co., Ltd., a manufacturer and supplier of paint protection and window film for auto and architectural markets in the Asia Pacific region.
BASF and Israeli packager StePac have joined forces to create the “next generation” of fresh produce packaging. BASF will provide StePac with greater flexibility to advance contact-sensitive packaging formats to a higher sustainability standard by supplying StePac with Ultramid Ccycled – a chemically recycled polyamide 6.
TotalEnergies’ biorefinery in La Mède, France, allows direct access to renewable feedstock for its drop-in RE:newable polymer range derived from bio-based products. The company claims these polymers retain virgin-like properties.
