Boxed-in Tito Mboweni resorts to fantasy

The idealistic hero of the 1967 film The Graduate was horrified by talk of “a great future in plastics”. He was ahead of his time. Plastic is triggering a spasm of disgust. Developing nations are rejecting paper waste shipments contaminated with plastic. Disposable bags are prohibited, restricted or taxed in 127 countries.

About 350-million tons of plastic is produced every year. The damage exceeds the industry’s $40bn annual profits, McKinsey calculates.

Environmental damage is shifting from an externality to a business cost. The trend creates opportunities as well as threats. Coca-Cola plans to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells by 2030. That is good news for Tomra, which dominates the market for vending machines that collect containers for recycling.

Firms are also trying to find fixes. Carbios and Loop Industries are working on breaking down plastics into their constituents, which are converted into new materials. BP describes chemical recycling as a “game changer” and plans to commercialise its technology by 2025.

Will such innovation, together with a big recycling push, be enough to fend off a ban? In the case of plastic bottles, Barclays thinks it will. Recycling rates in developed countries should reach 70% by 2030. Manufacturers are counting on continued growth.

That is foolhardy. Makers of rival materials hope to grab market share. The boss of Ball Corporation sees canned still water as the “next big frontier”. He may be outflanked by rivals whose packaging appears greener. Brewer Carlsberg recently unveiled a wood fibre bottle.

Plastic is light, versatile, cheap and robust. But singleuse products are becoming socially unacceptable. Today, like the disaffected student in The Graduate, many young people wince at the word “plastics”. They would no sooner carry a plastic water bottle than wear a mink coat. /London, July 14