Four years ago, the UN declared plastic pollution a global crisis , decades after the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch –a collection of marine debris 2x the size of Texas. The Year 2020 was supposed to be a watershed moment for the industry after dozens of state and local policymakers planned to make the ultimate shift away from plastics. They clearly underestimated the sheer tenacity of the plucky industry, and a global pandemic. The plastics industry quickly seized the unexpected opportunity provided by the Covid-19 pandemic (which proved a double-edged sword) and an indulgent government to push back on the plastic bans, managing to post positive growth. The plastics and petrochemicals sector received a much-needed shot in the arm after the Trump administration gave it an ‘ open license to pollute’ by relaxing tough environmental laws and fines for environmental pollution during the COVID-19 crisis amid historic […]