Global companies set up alliance to eliminate plastic waste

ISTANBUL

Some 30 global companies have set up an alliance to create “sustainable solutions” to the plastic waste problem, planning to invest $1 billion in a newly launched organization.

“Developing solutions for this problem can only be possible through joint efforts and cooperation of all the value chain including the providers, business partners, consumers, other organizations and governments,” Henkel CEO and German Chemical Association chair Hans Van Bylen has said in a written statement.

“As a global and industrial consumer goods company, we aim to make contributions to eliminating plastic wastes,” he added.

The cross value chain Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), currently made up of nearly 30 member companies, has committed over $1 billion with the goal of investing $1.5 billion over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment.

“Everyone agrees that plastic waste does not belong in our oceans or anywhere in the environment. This is a complex and serious global challenge that calls for swift action and strong leadership. This new alliance is the most comprehensive effort to date to end plastic waste in the environment,” Procter & Gamble CEO and AEPW chairman David Taylor said in his announcement on Jan. 16.

The alliance is a not-for-profit organization that includes companies that make, use, sell, process, collect, and recycle plastics. This includes chemical and plastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies, retailers, converters, and waste management companies, also known as the plastics value chain.