SIBUR will put up a 1.5 million-tpy ethylene cracker and three 500,000-tpy polyethylene plants under the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (GCC) project in Svobodny, Amur Oblast, Russia. Gazprom’s Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP), which is also under construction now, will supply ethane fraction, the main feedstock, there. The configuration of Amur GCC, the set-up and capacity of the ethylene and polyethylene units have already been approved in the pre-design phase. Linde in consortium with Design Institute for Gas Processing (NIPIGas) will provide engineering, procurement and site services based on its proprietary technology for the cracker. The launch dates are unknown yet.

Nestle has announced it will invest up to CHF 2 billion ($2.06 billion) in the recycling industry to speed up the sustainable plastic packaging development. This initiative is in line with company’s commitment to make its plastic packaging recyclable and reusable by 2025 and eventually reduce virgin plastic use by a third.

Limited supply of food-grade recycled plastics is one of the largest obstacles to building a successful circular economy. This is the reason why Nestle plans to buy as much as 2 million t of food-grade recycled plastic material by 2025 paying more than the market average price in attempt to attract new suppliers. The company will also invest CHF 250 million ($258 million) to establish a venture fund for the start-ups searching for packaging innovations.

China has developed a set of rules and bans aimed at non-degradable plastic products to reduce environmental pollution. The plan has several phases.

The first one involves the prohibition against the use of single-use plastic bags made of polyethylene and disposable food utensils made of polystyrene by shopping malls, supermarkets and restaurant takeout services in China’s largest cities by the end of 2020. Other urban areas are obliged to get rid of the bags by the end of 2022. Eventually, a complete ban on such products will have taken effect by the end of 2025.

‘The National Development and Reform Commission will update and publish the list of the plastic products restrictions as well as elaborate the scope of bans on their certain types and the implementation standards in a timely manner’, Meng Wei, a spokeswoman for the commission has said.

As China announced a national standard for biodegradable plastic shopping bags late last year, the industry is ready for their production. In addition, recycling facilities are under construction all over the country.

As China is the world’s largest polyethylene importer, the ban, although divided into phases, may be disruptive to the local polyethylene market once the initiative is fully in force.