EQUATE

Food-grade PET with 30% recycled content / PET manufacturing innovation adds step closer to circular economy objective

MATTRESS INDUSTRY

The Netherlands leads the way in Europe for mattress recycling / Rapid progress in chemical recycling projects / Europur report

CORRECTION - MARINE LITTER

Alliance to End Plastic Waste's project Renew Oceans collapses / Pandemic and technical problems blamed for breakdown of multi-company clean-up effort in India

VERSALIS

Adriano Alfani appointed CEO

DOW

Extension of partnership in Kenya to tackle plastics waste / Collaboration with PIL to improve silage storage

PLASTICS AND ENVIRONMENT

Eastman to begin reporting plastic pellet spills

DOW

Introduction of recyclable BOPE films in EMEA / Rival to BOPP and BOPET

USA

Hurricane Zeta brings further devastation to the US Gulf Coast / Some damage to polymerisation lines

SPAIN

Covid-19 crisis hits economy / Q3 GDP down year-on-year / Weakness follows pressure on sales by plastics processing sector in 2019 / Volume decline for machinery imports

BOPP FILMS

Biaxial films growing steadily worldwide / PP remains clear leader despite upturn in PET / Plant technology sector highly concentrated / Overcapacities dominate picture

DOW

US chemical group reports small loss in Q3 / Cost-cutting fails to compensate for margin losses

DOW

Group to slim down even more / Fewer investments / Sale of tank farms and railway lines

POLYURETHANE

Supply situation for TDI and polyols critical / “Tremendous procurement problems” for processors / Hardly any imports due to shutdowns of US plants

DOW

Flexible foams group Vita joins mattress recycling initiative

POLYMERS FOR EUROPE ALLIANCE

Poll of European plastics consumers ranks Repsol top overall supplier / “Best Polymer Producers Awards for Europe 2020” provides rankings for materials companies

DOW

John Sampson to rejoin US group as successor to head of engineering Peter Holicki

PLASTIC PACKAGING

Technology constraints drag on growth of mono-material films / Asia-Pacific dominates global market / PP fastest growing polymer / Smithers report

BOREALIS

McArdle new VP of polyolefins strategy

SHELL

Eight new cracker furnaces for Moerdijk / Plans to cut carbon emissions by 10%

ALLIANCE TO END PLASTIC WASTE

Progress in 2020 / 14 projects worldwirde underway with plans to double in 12 months / Goal for zero plastics waste in more than 100 at-risk cities

PETROCHEMICAL MARKETS

Sadara anticipates reduced TDI production at its plant in Al Jubail throughout the whole of Q4

POLYMER PRICES

Polyurethane feedstocks August 2020: Triple-digit hikes on strongly higher demand / Isocyanate output slowly normalises / More hikes in September

UPDATE - ISOCYANATES

BASF and Dow raise prices for MDI in North America / TDI production disrupted in Geismar

PETROCHEMICAL MARKETS

Polypropylene/C3: Production chain in Europe and the US undersupplied / PP spot prices in Europe rising

POLYMER PRICES

North America July 2020: Significant rise for polyolefins / PVC and PS also see strong increases / Engineering plastics move sideways / Fragile recovery in domestic demand / Mixed picture in August