Plastics offer many benefits, including their functionality, lightness, durability, safety and versatility. However, the current plastics economy has drawbacks that are becoming increasingly apparent. Plastic packaging is a valuable and finite resource but most ends up in landfill and little is recovered. This purely linear plastics economy means that after a first-use cycle, 95% of plastic packaging material value is lost to the economy – some USD 80-120 billion. In addition, plastic packaging can escape collection and affect vital natural systems, such as the ocean.
Overcoming these drawbacks is both a business imperative and an opportunity for Borealis. By enhancing material effectiveness (through reuse and recycling, and by using renewable feedstock), it is possible to achieve better economic and environmental outcomes, while continuing to harness the many benefits of plastic packaging. Borealis has therefore identified the Circular Economy of Polyolefins as a material issue and one of the three focus areas in its sustainability strategy. The Group has set itself the ambition to become a leader in this field.
Borealis is promoting the CE across the industry, by taking initiatives and participating in activities and platforms that drive recycling options and solutions