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

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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