Greenpeace chief: Alliance to End Plastic Waste is misfiring, as exposé reveals flagship project failure

22 Jan 2021 --- The Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a collaboration of over 50 top plastic industry players, has come under a fresh tide of criticism following an investigation revealing the collapse of its flagship project, Renew Oceans.

Environmental campaigners are claiming vindication on earlier warnings that the Alliance, founded in 2019, is merely a marketing ploy by big oil companies designed to hide and justify a massive expansion of global plastic production. 

The Alliance’s members include Exxon, Dow, Total, Shell, Chevron Phillips and Procter & Gamble. It pledged US$1.5 billion over five years for plastic cleanup projects, recycling infrastructure and educational initiatives. 

At the core of the Alliance’s efforts is Renew Oceans, a non-profit dedicated to dredging the Ganges – the world’s third largest river – of plastic and installing prevention plans against further pollution.

International news organization Reuters uncovered last week, however, that Renew Oceans has fallen well short of its plastic clean up targets. 

Representatives of the Alliance have since responded to the criticisms.

PackagingInsights discusses the Reuters exposé with John Hocevar, campaign director of Greenpeace USA Oceans. 

Unfulfilled promises
While neither Renew Oceans nor the Alliance have released any official progress report, workers involved in the project disclosed to Reuters that around one ton of plastic had been cleared in six months, far short of Renew Oceans’ 450-ton promise for 2020. 

Experts estimate that soon there will be more pieces of plastic in the oceans than fish.The failure comes despite a US$5 million investment by the Alliance, which is now reportedly being partially returned by Renew Oceans. 

Greenpeace has been at the forefront of criticism against the Alliance, previously describing it as a “desperate attempt from corporate polluters to maintain the status quo on plastics.” 

“While this does not mean that all waste management and clean up efforts are doomed to fail, it certainly indicates we shouldn’t trust these efforts to solve the plastic pollution crisis,” says Hocevar. 

“Big polluters will do everything in their power to continue producing cheap throwaway plastics, including promoting greenwashing efforts to ‘clean up’ the mess they have made globally.” 

“More often than not, those efforts are meant to generate positive headlines and nothing more. If companies were serious about addressing pollution, they would reduce the amount of polluting plastics they rely on.” 

Time for new policies 
Hocevar emphasizes that new administration in the US offers policymakers an opportunity to force real change in industry. 

“As the Biden Administration takes over, there are a number of actions that can be taken immediately to get the pollution crisis under control. There is already a strong effort in Congress to reduce plastic pollution at its source and hold polluters accountable through the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act.” Greenpeace is calling on the Biden Administration to enact legislation holding oil companies to account for plastic pollution. 

The act is proposed legislation in the US, which would require plastic producers to be responsible for collecting and recycling materials. It would also impose fees on carryout plastic bags and require a national refund system to return beverage containers. 

“The Administration can also show leadership by voicing strong support for a global plastics treaty to tackle this crisis worldwide,” continues Hocevar. 

“There is also a lot happening at the city and state level, with quite a few new proposals aimed at reducing plastic use and making corporations responsible for the full life cycle of their products.” 

Enforcing the law 
Hocevar says even with the need for new national and international legislation, laws that currently exist to martial the claims made by groups like Alliance go largely unenforced. 

“Companies that make false claims and promises around recyclability, cleanup efforts, and other bogus sustainability initiatives should be held accountable.”

“The Federal Trade Commission has strong requirements for companies around greenwashing and truth in marketing, yet many companies continue to make claims that are simply not true.”

Recycling initiatives cannot be seen as justifications for increased plastic production, says Greenpeace.The Alliance pledged to divert millions of tons of plastic waste in over a hundred cities, but according to Reuters, it has so far fallen far short of its goals. 

“Under the Biden Administration, it is important for these requirements to be enforced and for companies to be honest with their customers about where these plastics are ending up,” Hocevar stresses. 

The importance of skepticism
The promises made by corporations and alliances should always be questioned, says Hocevar. Campaigners have long held that industry initiatives such as the Alliance to End Plastic Waste cannot be seen as a silver bullet solution to plastic pollution. 

“It is important for industry stakeholders and consumers to look at clean up and waste management efforts skeptically as primary solutions to the pollution crisis. The fossil fuel industry has been trying to convince people to stop littering and recycle better since the 1970s.”

“This industry narrative is meant to dodge responsibility for the polluting plastics that harm our health and environment around the world. Any serious effort to tackle plastic pollution must stop plastics at the source.”

“We cannot allow the corporations responsible for creating the plastic crisis to deflect attention from the fact that we need to get rid of single-use plastic and start investing in reuse, refill and package-free designs.”

By Louis Gore-Langton