It is reported that the Plastic Recycling Industry and the Green Action Alliance have officially released the 2022 Green Action White Paper. The white paper points out that with the improvement of global waste plastic recycling technology and the increase in production capacity, it is expected that by 2030, the global waste plastic recycling rate is expected to reach 50%, of which physical recycling accounts for 22%, nearly doubling, and chemical recycling accounts for 17%, with huge room for growth.

As the world's most recycled plastic, PET is driving sustainable growth due to its recyclable, flexible, safe and lightweight properties. Recently, Thai chemical company Indorama announced a partnership with Evertis, a company that produces single-layer and multi-layer semi-rigid films. The two companies plan to jointly develop an r-PET film for food packaging trays based on recycled polyester bottle flakes.

Mastercard has announced that it will remove virgin PVC plastic from payment cards on its network by 2028. All newly produced Mastercard plastic payment cards will be made from more sustainable materials, including recycled or bio-sourced plastics such as rPVC, rPET or PLA1, and approved through a certification process, which is the first step for the payment network. The company will support its global issuing partners in the transition away from virgin PVC.

To enable the transition to a circular economy model, Dow has launched EVOWASH, a range of industry-leading proven cleaning agents and defoamers designed to deliver superior PCR materials and raise the bar for recycled products to meet the most stringent quality standards.

On March 13, LyondellBasell and Mepol Group announced that they have reached a definitive agreement for LyondellBasell to acquire Mepol Group, a manufacturer of recycled, high-performance technical polymers located in Italy and Poland, consisting of Mepol S.r.l. and its subsidiaries Polar S.r.l. and Industrial Technology Investments Poland Sp.z.o.o.

Recently, DSM Engineering Materials announced a collaboration with DiFOLD, a startup focused on sustainable development, to develop a foldable and reusable product, the "Origami Bottle" - an origami foldable water bottle. DiFOLD said that the use of Arnitel ECO marks an important step for DiFOLD in reducing the impact of packaging waste on the environment.

At CHINAPLAS 2023, BASF will showcase a cold molding technology for manufacturing footwear components using Elastopan® polyurethane (PU). According to a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of the footwear component by Total Quality Assurance Service provider Intertek, cold molding technology significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and energy consumption during the production process.

Spanish energy and petrochemical company Repsol has announced an investment of €26 million to launch a new recycled plastic production line (Reciclex line) at its Puertollano Industrial Park in Spain.