Exxon Mobil Corporation has outlined a $200 million investment plan aimed at doubling its advanced plastics recycling capacity at its Baytown and Beaumont, Texas, facilities. The effort is one part of Exxon’s drive to process hard-to-recycle plastics, counter criticism over plastic waste, and recently address a lawsuit by California officials.
The expansion will let Exxon process an extra 175,000 tons of difficult plastics, like chip bags, artificial turf, and industrial packaging. Together with these operations, Exxon said it intends to recycle 250,000 tons of plastic waste a year in the United States by 2026. Exxon’s recycling method is its advanced recycling process where non-conventional plastics are converted into petrochemicals that can be used to produce new materials.
For every ton of post-use plastic we process, we’re displacing a ton of fossil-fuel feed,” said Karen McKee, president of Exxon Mobil Product Solutions. “This approach is not only environmentally significant but also a viable investment for our shareholders.”
A Global Plastic Waste Crisis
That is up to 23 million tons of plastic waste entering water bodies worldwide every year, creating havoc for ecosystems and communities, particularly in developing nations. Decades of effort have generated less than 10% recycling of plastic waste worldwide. Critics argue that petrochemical companies such as Exxon have promoted recycling without doing enough to cut the production of single-use plastics.
Legal Challenges From California
In California, the company is facing a mounting lawsuit filed in September, which claims that Exxon made “misleading public statements” in overstating recycling’s potential to mitigate the plastic waste crisis. Exxon denied these accusations while placing itself on the record as “fully committed to effective recycling solutions.”.
“This is real, and, by the way, we’re spending real money,” McKee said, defending the company’s efforts. “We are as concerned as anyone about the leakage of plastic waste into the environment.”
Exxon’s advanced recycling initiatives are in sync with its financial interest because the customers are increasingly willing to pay a premium for certified circular products, which verify that post-use plastics are processed into new materials, thus creating a sustainable revenue stream for the company.
MUST READ | Russia’s ICBM Launch On Ukraine: Is World War III Imminent Now?
