Tim Stedman, senior vice president, and business president for Trinseo, is optimistic about the steps the petrochemical industry is taking to mitigate plastic waste and marine litter.
"We're moving in the right direction," Stedman said. "We have to."
From left are Keith Christman, managing director for plastics market at the American Chemistry Council; Tim Stedman, senior vice president and business president for Trinseo; and Edison Terra, executive vice president of polyolefins South America/Europe and renewables for Braskem.
Stedman noted the urgency for all industry groups to work together to achieve global sustainability, especially as some critics assume they will deny personal responsibility in this pursuit.
"But there are no marine litter deniers," Stedman said on a panel discussing sustainability business strategy at the World Petrochemical Conference 2019 by IHS Markit, held recently in San Antonio. "I think that's an interesting point to dwell on. It's a unique opportunity, and we have to work together to address this extremely complex and difficult story."
Keith Christman, managing director for plastics market at the American Chemistry Council, agreed with Stedman about the urgency of addressing these environmental challenges.
"We have a huge problem of marine debris. It's a big challenge around the globe," Christman said.
According to Christman, this challenge is largely focused in five key countries globally, accounting for approximately 60 percent of the total amount of plastics going into the oceans.
"Many of these countries lack basic waste management," he said. "About 50 percent of the population has no access or no collection of waste whatsoever."
The World Bank, Christman said, recently endeavored to analyze trash accumulating in one such country's rivers.
"It's not just plastic; it's all manner of waste," Stedman said. "But organic waste accounted for 44 percent of it. So it's a huge challenge that is basically a lack of waste management that must be corrected. We view this as an unacceptable problem that must be fixed, and the industry is taking action to solve that problem."
Plastics: Past, present, future
Joining the panel, Edison Terra, executive vice president of polyolefins South America/Europe and renewables for Braskem, said plastics have been a focal point of global industry for many years.
"There is a great future in plastics," he said, quoting an oft-repeated line from the 1967 Oscar-winning film, "The Graduate."
But, Terra added, plastic has become a "victim of its own success."
"All of the opportunities to add value through plastic, maybe with a lack of infrastructure to treat and take care of waste, have created the situation that we have to find a solution for," he said. "We believe at Braskem that plastics were the future and continue to be the future. Through plastics and chemicals, we believe that we can make life better."
Terra said Braskem is committed to creating sustainable solutions from plastics and chemicals.
"Sustainability for plastics has become a question of innovative business strategy," he said. "It's part of the strategy of our legacy."
Braskem's vision of sustainability for plastics is circularity, he said.
"A circular economy is not about trying different linear chains together; it's really about redesigning the whole chain to make it circular," he explained. "The aim is to do that collectively, even if there are some initiatives that you can do by yourself."
Terra stressed the need for companies to engage others in initiatives and volunteer programs in the quest for sustainability.
"If you do believe that plastics are here to make people's lives better, join us in this journey," he concluded.
Lyn Tattum, vice president of oil, mid-downstream and chemical for IHS Markit, moderated the discussion.
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