Addressing Food Waste: Petrochemical Producer SIBUR’s Initiative

Food waste primarily originates from households, food service industries, and retail sectors. As it decomposes, it contributes to as much as 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is five times the emissions attributed to the aviation industry. In response, the UN has set a target to cut global food waste by half by 2030, aiming to significantly mitigate climate change.

SIBUR suggests that polymer packaging can be a crucial solution to reducing food waste. Such packaging extends the shelf life of products due to its barrier properties, which block moisture and air. It is also lightweight, flexible, and cost-effective, making it essential for storing frozen items and portioned ready-to-eat meals, ultimately helping to decrease food waste.

Despite being one of the highest users of polymers for packaging, with around 3 million tons annually, Russia reports some of the lowest food waste figures in Europe, at less than 60 kg per person per year. Although polymer packaging does contribute to plastic pollution, it’s noteworthy that plastic waste is only one-third the volume of food waste. Additionally, efforts to manage plastic waste are advancing, with initiatives to collect and recycle used packaging, turning them into new products.

Driven by public environmental concerns, polymer manufacturers like SIBUR are investing in recycling projects. SIBUR, for instance, is establishing a network of partner companies to collect and process waste into small flakes, which are then integrated into the production of fresh polymers.

Under its Vivilen brand, SIBUR has developed polymers containing up to 70% recycled plastic. These include rPET granules used to produce eco-friendly plastic bottles with 30% recycled content. Each year, SIBUR recycles up to 34,000 tons of plastic, preventing the disposal of roughly 1.7 billion plastic bottles.

The challenge of recycling multilayered and contaminated packaging is significant. SIBUR is exploring chemical recycling (thermolysis), which transforms waste into raw materials for new polymers using high temperatures and pressure. The company is planning to decide on investing in a thermolysis pilot project this year.

Encouragingly, private sector initiatives are increasingly supported or mandated by government policies. In 2022, Russia endorsed its Circular Economy programme, aiming for 100% sorting of solid municipal waste by 2030 and recycling 50% of that waste into new materials.

Globally, the movement towards recycling polymer waste is gaining momentum. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, mentioned an upcoming global plastics agreement that may prohibit certain single-use and ephemeral plastic products. However, the goal isn’t to eliminate polymers entirely, as they serve numerous beneficial applications. The aim is to integrate polymers into a closed-loop production cycle, similar to how metals like steel and aluminium are recycled, with about 30% of their production deriving from scrap. A comparable recycling rate is seen as achievable for polymers.