The shale gas boom has made virgin plastic, a waste byproduct of oil and gas production, cheap and abundant. Global plastic production could increase by one-third in the next few years if the ongoing trend continues, threatening to undermine efforts around the world to deflate the explosive growth of this often short-lived material, says the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
In response, governments are setting aggressive plastic reduction policies and, in some cases, bans; investors, from individuals to larger corporations are divesting from petrochemicals; and multinational collaborations have sprung to curb plastic exports.
