Major petrochemical companies and manufacturers, including Exxon Mobil and LyondellBasell, are exploring with lawmakers the idea of implementing a federal fee on packaging to bolster recycling efforts.
James Osborne reports for the Houston Chronicle.
In short:
- Key industry players are negotiating with Congress to introduce a fee on packaging materials aimed at enhancing recycling infrastructure.
- The initiative seeks to address the dismal 9% plastic recycling rate in the U.S. by adopting measures similar to those in Europe and certain U.S. states.
- Support for this proposal spans across large corporations, indicating a shift toward acknowledging the need for federally coordinated recycling strategies.
Key quote:
“Companies are starting to realize no amount of investment is going to solve this and they needed to start working closer with government. That’s a huge shift for American companies.”
— Erin Simon, a vice president at the World Wildlife Fund
Why this matters:
Recycling rates for plastics remain low compared to other materials, largely due to economic, technical, and logistical challenges. A recent report from Greenpeace and the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) also finds that recycling plastics is problematic because they contain toxic chemical additives that can create new harmful substances during the recycling process.
