Singapore-headquartered marketplace PCX Markets has seen a sharp increase in demand for plastic credits, claiming the sale of units on its platform helped fund the recycling or upcycling of 9,000 tonnes of plastic waste last year.
The impact on recycling and upcycling of credits transacted on PCX Markets grew by 1,500% in 2023 as large companies sought new ways to achieve sustainability goals and compliance requirements, according to the company.
“PCX Markets expects demand to continue to increase throughout this year, helping fund the expansion of recycling and upcycling capacity in 2024 and beyond,” it said in a statement.
Currently, the PCX marketplace lists 32 projects across nine countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America, with prices ranging from $106 to $804 per unit, each representing one tonne of plastic waste recycled or collected.
Half of the projects are based in the Philippines, where the 2022 Extended Producer Responsibility Act fuelled demand for credits, as it requires companies with assets over PHP100 million ($1.7 mln) to recover and divert 40% of their accountable plastic packaging footprint by the end of this year.
“Companies that want to complement upstream reduction efforts by funding downstream plastic waste recovery can purchase credits issued by projects, including recyclers and upcyclers, that want to raise funds to expand capacity,” said PCX Markets.
While recycling is the process of converting waste materials back into raw materials for creating new products, upcycling typically involves repurposing waste materials into higher-quality items.
LISTED PROJECTS
One of the projects listed on PCX’s platform, based in Bulacan, Philippines uses plastics from beverage cartons and other low-value flexible items, such as sachets, to create boards for construction and furniture.
“An overall rise in demand for credits in 2023 helped support this upcycler’s operating costs. As a result, they aim to triple their processing capacity by September,” said PCX Markets.
A separate initiative in Davao, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, recycles PET bottles into flakes that can be used in various products such as plastic containers, PET straps, and fibers for clothing.
“The recycler estimates that the new infrastructure will allow them to process an additional 1 mln kg of plastic waste into flakes every month, representing a 15% increase over last year,” added the company.
Overall, 29 of the 32 projects on the marketplace are certified under the recently updated Plastic Pollution Reduction Standard (PPRS), managed by PCX Markets’ sister organisation PCX Solutions, while three – all based in Thailand – use Verra’s Plastic Waste Reduction Standard (PWRS).
In recent months, PCX and Verra have advocated for plastic credits to be included in the UN plastic treaty as a key financing mechanism to help plug the funding gap on waste collection and management, poised to reach an estimated $40 billion by 2040, though some critics have raised concerns over their effectiveness.
The UN process, started in Mar. 2022, is slated to conclude by the end of the year with the fifth round of negotiations, scheduled to be held over Nov. 25-Dec. 1 in Busan, South Korea.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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