Yearbook 2020
Would you like plastic with that sir? Chemical suppliers welcome the new decade as a fresh opportunity to increase our major contributions to protecting Spaceship Earth and its crew, by Barry Dyer
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s impatient optimists unwilling to dwell on the past, it’s appropriate to recognized climate change, culminating in public demonstrations of disappointment at the lack of collective progress towards meeting the ambitions of the 2016 Paris Agreement.
embraced by the public, generating overdue plastic waste cleanup campaigns, while turning the spotlight on inadequate waste treatment capabilities. Sensibly, great effort must be put into anti-littering campaigns to keep waste out of the environment. In New Zealand, we cannot reuse, recycle or repurpose the bulk of the plastic waste we generate and hitherto exported for disposal. The wait for the ‘perfect solution’ will extend beyond the ‘many years’ now cited by authorities, unless we accept interim, pragmatic solutions. Environmentally conscientious Norway and Singapore
“We haven’t the money so we have to think” - Sir Ernest Rutherford The frustrations of predominantly younger protestors dominate the media, particularly social media, unfettered by the need for balance and accuracy, despite offering few practical examples of meaningful improvements. Only the Marshall Islands, Norway and Suriname have so far submitted the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) required by the UN for a November 2020 environmental gathering to confirm national reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by some 200 Paris signatories. The condemnation of plastic waste is highlighted as evidence of progress towards protecting our endangered species by removing the contamination of our waterways and oceans. Bans on single use plastic bags (reportedly 10% of the litter and now creating waste treatment issues) have been globally 46
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have advanced waste to energy plants, consuming the household rubbish and hazardous waste causing problems here. A US company is successfully demonstrating the practical repurposing of the polystyrene packaging overwhelming our landfills. Why not investigate licencing arrangements? It is time that ideology and procrastination yielded to pragmatism and progress, at least until emerging technologies, courtesy of industry research and development, can offer better solutions. The proactive international chemical industry is participating in major, UN supported plastic cleanup operations such as the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, involving more than 30 leading multi-national companies committing more than US $1 billion to remove, reduce, recover and repurpose waste and prevent future pollution
