Global Thinking

INEOS pledges its full support to help create a circular economy

3
min DEC 2018

INEOS pledges its full support to help create a circular economy

INEOS has thrown its considerable weight behind global efforts to create an economy in which plastics are reused over and over again.

It has joined with other leading businesses and governments from across the world who want to transform today’s take, make, dispose economy into one where plastics are designed to be used over and over again – and, in doing so, retains their value and keeps them out of the ocean.

INEOS has agreed four key pledges to be met by 2025.

“This isn’t just a PR exercise,” said Peter Williams, Group Technology Director for INEOS. “We are global leaders working on solutions to address a part of the root causes of plastic waste and pollution. Everyone has a role to play in helping to tackle this issue, Government, industry, NGOs and the public, worldwide. We are doing our bit.”

Plastics play a fundamental role in modern life. They have transformed many of the applications in which they are used – for the better.

For example, lighter stronger vehicle components mean safer transport requiring less fuel or power. Packaging that protects and preserves food, reducing food waste and the need for preservatives. Sterile packaging helps to improve healthcare in cities and inaccessible parts of our world whilst insulation makes modern buildings far more energy efficient.

INEOS produces high-value plastic that transforms lives for the better.

100% of INEOS polymers are recyclable, but currently, only about 14% of plastic gets recycled. Much of it ends up in landfill.

The cost to the environment is huge and has been widely reported.

But, according to a report by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation, plastic packaging waste also costs the world economy about $80 billion every year.

As part of its commitment to a New Circular Economy, INEOS has set itself four ambitious targets to meet by 2025.

We think it is possible – through innovation and partnership – to retain the value of plastic but rethink the way we produce, use and recover it at the end of their life.

“We want to inspire others and we are leading by example,” said Tom Crotty, INEOS Director of Corporate Affairs.

INEOS is already making progress.

It is currently working with brand-owners to simplify packaging design to make it easier to recycle.

And it is working with waste companies to explore the opportunities of mechanical and chemical recycling of plastics, and its own polymer scientists to find new products that can be made with larger amounts of recycled product without losing any of the quality.

“Plastic has no place in landfill and certainly not in our seas,” said Tom. “It not only has a detrimental effect on the environment but it is also a terrible waste of a valuable resource that should be collected so that we can recycle it.”

In this edition, INCH focuses on how plastics have changed the world for the better, what the plastics’ industry is doing to combat plastic pollution and INEOS’ innovative efforts to ensure plastic remains the material of choice for the 21st century.

Sir Ben Ainslie works with INEOS on its plastic pledge: Pages 6/7

BY 2025, INEOS will:

Offer a range of polyolefin products for packaging applications in Europe containing 50% or more recycled content.
Use, on average, 30% recycled content in products destined for polystyrene packaging in Europe.
Incorporate at least 325kt/a of recycled material into products.
Ensure 100% of polymer products can be recycled.

1 min read

EU renews hope of breakthrough

Processes developed by INEOS, which is viewed as a world leader in the oligomerisation of isobutene, will be used as part of the two-year, €16.4 million R&D project. “Being a global chemical producer, INEOS is delighted to be able to test this innovation which will help to increase the share of renewable products on the market,” said Jan Vermeersch, Commercial Director of INEOS Oligomers. “It might also allow INEOS to diversify its feedstock base and supply its customer with bio-based products.” Traditionally, isobutene has been used to make oligomers for lubricants, rubber, cosmetics, solvents, plastics and fuel. But the hope is that wheat straw, an agricultural residue, can achieve a similar result and lead to bio-based oligomers. The poorly valorised residual straw will initially be turned into glucose and xylose-rich hydrolysates – second generation sugars – by Clariant at its pre-commercial plant in Straubing in Germany. The French industrial bio-tech company, Global Bioenergies, will then ferment the straw hydrolysates into bio-isobutene at its sites. INEOS Oligomers in Belgium will then be tasked with converting the bio-isobutene to oligomers. TechnipFMC and IPSB (France) are also involved in the project. They will be carrying out the preliminary engineering of a hydrolysate to bio-isobutene plant and the overall integration with a straw to hydrolysate plant. Finally, the Energy Institute at the University of Linz in Austria will assess the sustainability and environmental bene ts of the bio-based oligomers.

1 min read

INEOS set to acquire Ashland’s composite business

Composites are increasingly used in cars to reduce weight and improve efficiency. They also look great. "Ashland's composite resins have been the materials of choice for the world's boat builders for 30 years, and with good reason" said Ashley Reed, CEO INEOS Enterprises. “They are light, strong and resistant to attack from chemicals and even fire. Unlike wood they don’t rot, unlike metal, they don’t corrode and unlike concrete, they don’t crack.” The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, includes 20 manufacturing sites in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Middle East, employing 1,300 people. “We believe that they all have great potential for growth under INEOS ownership,” he said.

2 min read

State-of-the-art investment

Once it's built in 2021, most of the chlorine will be used by INEOS Oxide to produce more propylene oxide at its site in Köln. The caustic soda, which manufacturers use to make such things as paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents, will be sold in Europe to ensure INOVYN's customers don't run out. “This is another major investment that will underpin the sustainability and competitiveness of our business in the long-term,” said CEO Chris Tane. This project is part of a wider investment programme by INOVYN which has seen changes to its membrane cellrooms in Sweden and Belgium and the development of a large-scale potassium hydroxide production plant also in Belgium.

2 min read

Grangemouth scales problem

KG Plant Manager Kenny Stevenson said the savings had been achieved through 'significant upgrades and investments' over the past few years to improve the reliability, efficiency and safety of the ethylene plant at its petrochemical complex. "As one of the largest manufacturers in Scotland we are constantly looking for ways to improve our environmental performance," he said. Grangemouth had sought help from GE Water & Process Technologies because it wanted to increase the cycles of its water cooling system. It explained that it was limited to four cycles due to calcium scaling. The solution proved to be a change of dosing products plus a new system which continuously monitored key parameters within the cooling water, these modifications allowing it to increase its cycles from four to eight. GE Water & Process Technologies later presented INEOS O&P UK, which had also just recorded its best-ever safety performance, with a prestigious environmental award in honour of its efforts.

1 min read

INEOS helps to make money

It has been supplying the polymer for its new plastic £5 and £10 banknotes. "It is so pleasing to see a new application for an old product," said John Harrison, who manages the customer account that produces the bank notes. The shift to plastic over cotton pulp for banknotes has not only been good news for INEOS’ O&P sites in Scotland and Belgium, though. It has also been good news for The Bank of England which says the new polymer notes are waterproof, cheaper, cleaner, easier to recycle and, more importantly, harder to copy. “In many ways, it is a logical use of plastic that will be appreciated by society,” said Graham MacLennan, Product Manager – Polymers at INEOS Ole ns & Polymers Europe (UK). The new plastic notes are also tougher than their ‘paper’ counterparts and expected to last 2.5 times longer. That, in turn, is better for the environment because fewer will need to be printed. And it’s a fact verified by The Carbon Trust. “The new notes can also survive a spin in the washing machine relatively unscathed,” said John. “But I would not advise ironing them. They will melt.” INEOS manufactures polymer at its sites in Grangemouth and Lillo. The pea-sized granules are then delivered to one of INEOS’ long-standing UK-based customers which melts the granules to make a very thin, see-through and flexible plastic film. That is then coated – at another location – with multiple ink layers that allow The Bank of England to print its design. So far more than 375 million polymer £10 notes have been printed since they were launched on the 200th anniversary of the death of author Jane Austen, who wrote such classic novels as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and whose portrait is featured on the note. The new £10 has a number of enhanced security features, such as see-through windows, a coloured quill that changes colour when the note is tilted and a silver foil patch containing a hologram. All are designed to make it harder to counterfeit. In countries like Singapore and Australia, polymer banknotes are nothing new. But by making the switch, The Bank of England, which is one of the world’s oldest banks, may well become the catalyst for change around the globe. And that could really be good news for INEOS as one of the major producers of plastic. “Our UK customer sells to all four corners of the earth so there is a great opportunity for them to win business which, in turn, could benefit us,” said Graham.

2 min read

INEOS director’s son qualifies for world championships

Iain Foster was just 16 when he produced the performance of his life to finish second at the Tumbling and Trampoline World Championships in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. “He had only qualified for the final in eighth place in the afternoon session, but he then put out a run that evening that I had never seen before to win the silver medal,” said his father Brian, Director of INEOS Property and INEOS Aviation. Tumbling coach Anne Bidmead said Iain, now 17, regularly trained at Basingstoke Gymnastics Club and was known for his amazing power on the track. But his talent had been spotted many years ago before that when, as a three-year-old, he started attending the club’s weekly gymtots sessions. At five, he was invited to join the boys’ artistic development squad, and began training twice a week. His coach was then international tumbling gymnast David Roy-Wood. Soon he was training four days a week and started to win medals on the floor and vault in regional competitions, finally competing in his first national competition at eight. Rugby became more of a passion when he went to secondary school but it was his continued involvement with gymnastics which gave him deceptive strength and speed – and earned him a place in the Hampshire Rugby Squad. “His PE teacher used to say that Iain loved running through people,” said Brian. That speed and strength also led to a change of direction in the world of gymnastics. “They thought he would be more suited to tumbling,” said Brian. And they were right. In just his second season, he qualified for the two-day British championships in Liverpool – and finished sixth. A year or so later he is now a world medallist. Iain is now juggling the demands of studying A-level chemistry, biology and history while he considers higher education options that could best develop his gymnastics career. “He has sensibly put rugby to one side for the immediate future,” said Brian.

2 min read

John’s mission accomplished

INEOS USA is gunning to help rid the world of a devastating disease which affects almost half a million people in America. A team from Olefins and Polymers this year, for the very first time, cycled 175 miles from Houston to Austin in Texas to help fund research into multiple sclerosis. "I had ridden the BP MS 150 countless times," said John Caffey, Business Development Manager for the Feedstocks group within O&P USA. “But I decided to up the ante by captaining a team at work.” His job was to lead – and inspire – them to keep going when the going got tough over the two-day event. “And it did,” said John. “Trying to convince your legs, not to mention your bottom, that they want to be on the bike again after 100 miles on the first day, isn’t easy.” The second day was filled with hills for the thousands of riders, punctuated by the roads through Bastrop and Buescher State Parks. “They were a real challenge for tired legs,” he said. John, whose aunt was diagnosed with MS in the nineties, was joined by 31 of his colleagues at the start – and later at the finish. “We set our preliminary team fund-raising goal at $25,000, but in the end we achieved $25,280,” he said. As for John, his involvement won’t end this year. “I will continue to support this ride until a cure is found,” he said. Organisers are hoping this year’s ride will have raised about $14 million to help speed up research into finding a cure for MS.

1 min read

INEOS’ tour de force strikes again

In all, 900 employees from sites all over the world completed the company's very own Tour de France Challenge and raised €31,000 to help children. "The response was inspiring," said John Mayock, INEOS' resident Olympian. “Not only did we raise a huge amount for charity, but many were encouraged to take up cycling for the first time in many years. It was an enormous team effort.” Teams from across INEOS were challenged to match the kilometres covered by the riders in the Tour de France, the world’s most famous cycle race, each day. But being INEOS, they went one better. And by the end of the challenge, the 900 riders had collectively ridden 400,000 km – the equivalent of cycling 10 times around the Earth. As the real riders had chased each other through the French countryside for the coveted title, INEOS’ teams from Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, the US and the UK had been squeezing in their mileage – before, during or after work. INEOS donated £1,000 to the local charity of choice for each team that completed the challenge.

1 min read