10 Feb 2023 --- The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) has reportedly achieved 0.2% of its plastic diversion target, equating to roughly 34,000 tons, despite pledging US$1.5 billion to fight waste since 2019. Financial think tank Planet Tracker says the organization’s members, which include major petrochemical corporations, use the AEPW to divert attention from the continued expansion of plastic production globally.
An AEPW spokesperson tells PackagingInsights the organization’s original target of diverting 15 million tons of plastic waste “was just too ambitious” and that its projects are “beginning to scale and deliver impact.”
However, Planet Tracker asserts the AEPW is simply a “sophisticated greenwashing” scheme and warns that many of its 77 members could soon be open to legal action, which is expected to increase as legislation like the UN’s Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution, comes into force.
“Currently, many AEPW members are choosing to invest heavily in the expansion of plastic production while failing to fund even meager recovery and recycling targets through the AEPW,” a Planet Tracker spokesperson tells us.
“The US$1.5 billion pledged by AEPW members over a five-year period represents only a fraction of its members’ financial capacity and is trivial compared to the US$400 billion the oil, gas and chemical industry plans to spend on new plastic manufacturing capacity.”
Planet Tracker says the AEPW hides the pollution caused by its members.Rising production, increased risk?
Planet Tracker says the top ten producers of single-use plastic in the AEPW generated almost 32 million tons of waste in 2019, equal to approximately 128 million tons in a four-year period.
“This compares to the 34,000 tons of plastic waste the AEPW has now confirmed has been removed and recycled for the first four years, showing that the major plastic producers in the AEPW do not even remove or recycle 99.97% of their own plastic waste. This goal surely cannot be merely called ‘too ambitious,’” the spokesperson says.
A recent report by the Minderoo Foundation found that virgin plastics production increased by 6 million metric tons globally between 2019 and 2021 – outpacing recycling rates by a factor of 15.
Minderoo also forecasts that corporate liabilities from plastics litigation triggered in 2022-2030 could exceed US$20 billion in the US alone. “Corporates and investors need to be very careful not to use greenwashing techniques directly or indirectly through organizations like AEPW,” continues the spokesperson.
Project failures?
The AEPW has been criticized for the inadequacy of some of its projects, such as a donation of “Sweepy Hydro” machines to Sri Lanka after a mass plastic pellet spill polluted the island last year. A spokesperson for the organization says this was not a project but a donation made in response to a crisis.
“Before deployment in Sri Lanka, the manufacturer tested and adjusted the machines to maximize their effectiveness under local conditions. Once the machines were handed over, the government took over full responsibility and accountability for their operation,” they explain.
Petrochemical industry involvement is necessary for the AEPW, says Edward Kosior.The AEPW also says its expenditures on advertising, which have also been called into question, are normal.
“Our overheads, which includes our marketing budget, are within the limits of what is typical for many non-profits – approximately 20%. A large part of the AEPW’s revenue is earmarked for projects that are very often implemented on the ground by project partners, including local NGOs. The AEPW provides grants and considers concessional funding for these mission-aligned projects.”
Project successes
Nextek founder Edward Kosior, whose company landed US$3 million in funding from the AEPW last year, says the organization “has responded to the plastics crisis in a very responsible manner given that most of its members are involved in the plastic resin and plastic product creation.”
“The nature of the organization will mean that they will work through third parties on projects that are selected for their local and international impact. This might explain why some projects work and others are less effective,” he says.
Kosior also says the involvement of the petrochemical industry is “absolutely essential” as it is the start of the plastic supply chain. “It would be extraordinary if they were not involved,” he says.
“They also have the resources to fund projects that help to deliver the mission of AEPW. They will understand that criticism will be unrelenting unless results are delivered and that is why a substantial fund and resources have been set up.”
However, groups like Planet Tracker remain doubtful these resources will have any real impact. “Government regulation plays a critical role in the prevention of greenwashing, which in this instance, comes in a sophisticated form, described as greencrowding, where organizations hide in the group and move at the speed of the slowest adopter.”
By Louis Gore-Langton
