ExxonMobil Steps Up to the Plastic Waste Challenge

ExxonMobil is helping to advance a circular economy for plastics by deploying advanced recycling, which can process a range of plastics generally not mechanically recycled

Plastics are essential to modern life. We use them products-car to make vital parts, kitchen appliances, mobile phones, construction materials, food packaging, greenhouse films, and much more. They are also essential to life-saving products like ventilators, face masks and personal protective equipment.

Plastics can allow us to do more with less material and with a smaller environmental footprint than alternative materials. They can also contribute to achieving certain UN Sustainable Development Goals and support a lower-carbon future.

For example, McKinsey & Company found that plastics can provide a greenhouse gas benefit of 10% to 90% compared to alternatives. Another study, sponsored by the American Chemistry Council, found that the life-cycle emissions impact of U.S. plastic packaging was 54% less than alternative materials as a group, including aluminum, glass, and paper. It said the annual savings was "equivalent to the weight of 290,000 Boeing 747 airplanes."

But plastic pollution remains a significant challenge in India and the rest of the world. According to some estimates, only 9% of plastic gets recycled globally.

So, how do we accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastics, and how is ExxonMobil stepping up to the challenge?

Innovating for the Future

One way is product re-design. ExxonMobil's technology lab in Bengaluru works closely with customers in the country and around the world to design and evaluate new packaging solutions. This includes lightweighting plastics, which helps customers to do more with less, and developing packaging solutions with a blend of mechanically recycled and virgin polymers.