As recyclers try to keep up with an influx of newly produced virgin plastics, major petrochemical companies that extract and process the fossil fuels used to make plastics have convinced consumers that they can recycle their way out of the global trash problem. That’s according to a recent HuffPost article that explores how fossil fuel companies are making the plastic waste crisis worse in America.
The report notes that fossil fuel giants like ExxonMobil and Shell, as well as plastic makers like SABIC and Formosa Plastics, are building and expanding at least five ethane cracker plants in Appalachia and along the Gulf of Mexico. The facilities will turn ethane into polyethylene pellets, which can be made into a variety of products, including milk jugs, shampoo bottles, food packaging and the air pillows that protect e-commerce orders.
