Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC today announced it is enhancing its sustainability efforts to eliminate plastic pellet spills by becoming a member of Operation Clean Sweep Blue (OCS Blue). This program is administered jointly by the American Chemistry Council's Plastics division and the Plastics Industry Association. OCS Blue represents an even more rigorous commitment to pellet loss reduction efforts than Operation Clean Sweep, which the company has been a member of since its inception in 2000.
In addition to joining OCS Blue, Chevron Phillips Chemical announced today that it will begin reporting pellet spills that are currently only provided to state regulatory agencies. The company will also report on the success of recycling efforts related to the recovery of spilled pellets. This information will be made available annually in the company's sustainability report. The 2018 sustainability report will be the first report to provide such data and is expected to be published and available on the company's website later this year.
"Simply put, plastics should not end up in unintended places in our environment. We are very proud of our track record and commitment to sustainability programs. We are always seeking ways to improve our results and joining Operation Clean Sweep Blue is yet another significant step as our company and our industry work to eliminate plastic waste from finding its way into unintended places," said Jim Becker, vice president of polymers and sustainability. "We are pleased that the procedures and safeguards we have put into place at all facilities are working effectively to minimize and eliminate pellet spills and are confident that the numbers reported in our sustainability report will confirm the success of these initiatives."
In addition to participating in OCS and OCS Blue, Chevron Phillips Chemical has long been engaged in industrywide efforts to establish circular systems for plastic recycling and recovery through research, technology, infrastructure and education.
Most recently, the company joined the
Alliance to End Plastic Waste as one of its founding members. The growing group of more than 30 top global companies is one of the most comprehensive business consortiums across the entire plastics and consumer goods value chains. The Alliance has pledged more than $1 billion with a goal of investing $1.5 billion over five years to eliminate unchecked plastic waste in the environment and especially the oceans.
