Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem has taken a small step away from its polluting, oil-based manufacturing by sourcing recycled organic materials from Shell Chemicals for its next batch of polypropylene plastic.
As Packaging World reported, the materials in question are "bio-attributed" — meaning they're at least partly made up of biological matter instead of dirty fuels — and "bio-circular," meaning they come from waste products left over from manufacturing products like food and lumber.
Using these reclaimed materials instead of drilling for oil is better for surrounding communities and the Earth as a whole because it's a much less polluting approach and causes less environmental harm.
"Braskem is a leader in the innovation and production of bio-based materials, and we continue to see demand grow for more renewable solutions in our markets," said Mark Nikolich, vice president of olefins and polyolefins at Braskem North America, per Packaging World.
This suggests that the company has noticed the growing calls from consumers for more planet-friendly products and services. Using your voice, therefore, is a powerful tool to encourage industry change.
"We will continue to focus our work on sources of sustainable propylene, in this case, bio-attributed and bio-circular, to support our polypropylene clients in meeting their carbon reduction and circularity goals," Nikolich said.
While this is a step forward, there are still problems with this approach. The final product isn't a compostable plastic alternative; it's ordinary plastic that takes over a hundred years to decay and sheds microplastics like any other.
Plus, "bio-attributed" materials only have to be partly based on biological material — they can still contain dirty fuels, and even feature a large proportion of them.
Giving Braskem too much credit for creating an environmentally friendly product here would be greenwashing, especially given that its main line of business is still petrochemicals.
Still, it's an improvement, and more companies should move in this direction.
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"We will continue to develop and provide solutions to support our global clients in reaching their sustainability goals," Nikolich added.
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