Talking trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis | 1 Talking trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis The information in this document has been obtained Table of contents from sources believed reliable and in good faith but any potential interpretation of this report as making an allegation against a specific company or companies named would be misleading and incorrect. The authors accept no liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this document or its contents. Executive summary 11 1. Introduction 19 1.1. The problem with plastics 19 1.2. Blaming consumers and a crisis of accountability 21 This report was written and researched by the Changing Markets Foundation in collaboration with independent 1.3. A turning point for plastic pollution? 24 researchers. Main authors (in alphabetical order): Alice Delemare Tangpuori, George Harding-Rolls, 1.4. Co-opting a crisis 25 Nusa Urbancic and Ximena Purita Banegas Zallio. 2. A flurry of voluntary initiatives 31 We would like to thank all our contributors and reviewers. 2.1. Individual company commitments 33 2.2. Individual company initiatives 38 Published in September 2020 2.3. Alliances and group initiatives 56 2.4. Voluntary initiatives: All talk and no action? 65 3. Tactics in the corporate playbook 69 3.1. Delay 70 www.changingmarkets.org 3.2. Distract 71 www.talking-trash.com 3.3. Derail 74 Designed by Pietro Bruni - toshi.ltd Printed on recycled paper 3.4. Putting the tactics in play 75 4. Country case studies 81 4.1. About the research 82 2 | | 3 Talking trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis List of figures, tables and boxes 4.2. US: The war against plastic legislation 83 4.3. The EU: Time’s up for single-use plastic? 100 4.4. Austria: A plastic pollution lobby mobilising against DRS 105 4.5. Spain: A wolf in sheep’s clothing 110 4.6. France: A missed opportunity 118 Figures Tables 4.7. Scotland: Coca-Cola’s U-turn 122 Figure 1.1 The exponential production of plastics Table 2.1 An overview of individual FMCG companies’ 4.8. Czech Republic: The cleanest thing in the Czech waste business is the waste 123 voluntary commitments on plastic pollution Figure 1.2 The fate of all plastics 4.9. China: Banking on biodegradables 128 Table 4.1 Revolving doors between different industry initiatives Figure 1.3 Deposit return systems around the world 4.10. Japan: Out of sight, out of mind 133 Table 4.2 Reported recycling rates of plastic containers in Spain Figure 2.1 Going round in circles: Coca-Cola’s trail of broken promises 4.11. Kenya: A game of cat and mouse 136 Boxes The leaky circular economy of chemical recycling 4.12. Bolivia: The rights of plastics trump the rights of Mother Earth 139 Figure 3.1 4.13. Uruguay: Tax backlash 141 Figure 4.1 US plastic-waste management, 1960–2017 Box 1.1 Deposit return systems explained 5. Conclusion and recommendations 145 Figure 4.2 Plastic bag bans and pre-emption laws in the US Box 2.1 Sticking-plaster solutions 5.1. Weak individual company commitments 146 Figure 4.3 Plastics by numbers Box 2.2 What does a good voluntary initiative look like? 5.2. Misguided group initiatives 146 Figure 4.4 Ecoembes: The power of manipulation Box 3.1 Chemical recycling and incineration 5.3. History of broken promises 146 Figure 4.5 ‘Not a single French Box 4.1 Masters of distraction: Recyclable… or not? 5.4. Corporate actions to stop legislation 147 plastic bottle ended up in the oceans.’ Box 4.2 Green dot and producer responsibility 5.5. Pushing responsibility for waste and recycling onto consumers 147 Figure 4.6 A leaked document showing Coca-Cola’s intention to fight back against deposit systems in Europe Box 4.3 An unusual opponent to DRS: The glass industry 5.6. Exploiting the crisis 148 Figure 4.7 Bioplastic materials Box 4.4 Refill and reuse 5.7. Recommendations 149 Figure 4.8: ‘It’s not plastic, it’s you.’ (No es el plástico, eres tú) Box 4.5 Bioplastics: A false solution to plastic pollution? 6. References 154 4 | | 5 Talking trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis List of abbreviations ABA American Beverage Association CPA Circular Plastics Alliance GHG Greenhouse gas PVC Polyvinyl chloride ACC American Chemistry Council CSR Corporate Social Responsibility GPAP Global Plastic Action Partnership PVDC Polyvinylidene chloride ADEME Ecological Transition Agency in France DEFRA Department for the HBC Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers Environment, Food and Rural Affairs AFP Agence France Presse HDPE High-Density Polyethylene RECOVER Act Realising the Economic Opportunities DRS Deposit Return System and Values of Expanding Recycling Act ALEC American Legislative Exchange Council IBWA International Bottled Water Association EC European Commission RP The Recycling Partnership APBA/ARPBA American Progressive Bag Alliance, later renamed INCIEN Institut Cirkularny Ekonomiky American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance ECOEMBES Ecoembalajes España, SA, Spanish rPET recycled PET Producer Responsibility Organisation KAB Keep America Beautiful RVM Reverse vending machine ARA Altstoff Recycling Austria AG, Austrian EFBW European Federation of Bottled Waters KAM Kenya Association of Manufacturers Producer Responsibility Organisation SUP EU Single-Use Plastics Directive EKO-KOM Producer Responsibility KMV Karlovy Vary Mineral Water AUIP Association of the Plastics Industry in Uruguay Organisation in Czech Republic UNEP UN Environment Programme KSB Keep Scotland Beautiful CRE Californians for Recycling and the Environment EMF Ellen MacArthur Foundation UNESDA European Soft Drinks Industry LCA Life-cycle assessment CBIA China Beverage Industry Association EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency US United States MoE Ministry of Environment CEO Corporate Europe Observatory EU European Union WKÖ Austrian Chamber of Commerce MRF Material Recovery Facility CETA Centre for Economic and Market Analysis EuPC European Plastics Converters WRAP Waste and Resources Action Programme P&G Procter & Gamble CET-CV Confederation of Tourist Entrepreneurs of EUROPEN European Organization WWF World Wildlife Fund the Valencian Community for Packaging and Environment PET Polyethylene terephthalate CHf Swiss francs EXPRA Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance PLASTICS Plastics Industry Association CIEL Centre for International Environmental Law FEVE European Container Glass Federation PPE Personal protective equipment CITEO French Producer Responsibility Organisation FMCGs Fast-Moving Consumer Goods PRE Plastics Recyclers Europe CNI National Chamber of Industry FOI Freedom of information PRO Producer Responsibility Organisation Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 FPA Flexible Packaging Association 6 | | 7 Talking trash: the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis Glossary of terms Bioplastic: A broad term encompassing bio-based plastics (plastics made from biological feedstocks, such as Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs): Products sold quickly and relatively cheaply, such as household plants or animals), biodegradable plastics and compostable plastics (designed to break down in the natural en- goods, packaged foods, beverages, and beauty and personal-care products. vironment, industrial composters or home composters, depending on the material). Not all bio-based plastics are compostable or biodegradable, and not all compostable or biodegradable plastics are bio-based. Green Dot: Green DotTM is a protected trademark, registered and owned by Der Grüne Punkt Duales System Deutschland GmBH. The symbol is widely used on products and in the EU it means that the company has paid Chemical Recycling: Chemical recycling refers to several technologies that break down plastic using heat, a licence fee for their packaging, as stipulated by EPR legislation. pressure, depleted oxygen, chemical solvents or other catalysts. This is turned into the raw materials for new plastics or turned into fuel. The process is often referred to as chemical recycling or ‘advanced recycling’ regard- less of if the end result is new plastics or fuel for burning. Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO): National organisations established through the EU ‘s Extend- ed Producer Responsibility legislation that collect licensing fees for packaging placed on the market and sub-li- cense the Green DotTM label to companies for their packaging. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Activities that incorporate both direct and indirect environmental and social concerns into a company’s operations and planning. Recyclate: Raw material sent to, and processed in, a waste-recycling plant or materials-recovery facility. Deposit Return/Refund System (DRS): A system whereby, when buying a product, consumers pay an ad- ditional small amount of money (a deposit), which is reimbursed at a collection point upon the return of the packaging or product. Effective recycling: This is sometimes also called closed-loop recycling, where for example a plastic bottle can be recycled multiple times into a plastic bottle and not down-cycled into, for example fibres for the carpet and fashion industry. Some plastic polymers, such as PET and HDPE, can be mechanically recycled into new plastic products multiple times, if collected through clean waste streams. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): an environmental policy approach in which a producer’s respon- sibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle. An EPR policy is charac- terised by shifting responsibility to producer that is putting packaging or product on the market and the intro- duction of incentives to take environmental considerations of their products into account in the design phase. 8 | | 9 Executive summary This report investigates industry tactics in the face of an unprecedented plastic pollution crisis and growing public pressure to address it. Based on research and investigations in over 15 countries across five continents, it reveals how – behind the veil of nice-sounding initiatives and commitments – the industry has obstructed and undermined proven legislative solutions for decades.