OXO Global Business Unit,
ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company
Minimizing Plastic Pellet loss: ExxonMobil Makes Progress
OXO Global Business Unit, ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company, a division of ExxonMobil Corporation shares society’s concern about plastic waste in the environment. Plastics provide significant sustainability benefits versus alternative materials and will continue to play an important role in helping society mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. They should not end up as litter, either in our oceans or anywhere else in the environment. Industry, governments, nongovernmental organizations and consumers must work collaboratively to encourage appropriate recycling, reuse and recovery of plastic waste.
As economies grow, society’s commitment to waste management systems must expand to
enable the appropriate collection, sorting and processing of waste to minimize environmental impact. These infrastructure enhancements are needed for all types of municipal solid waste, not just plastic. However, increasing plastic recycling rates and converting plastic waste into a broad range of valuable products could unlock value and help offset some of the costs of improvements to waste collection and sorting infrastructure.
ExxonMobil is taking action to help address plastic waste in the environment by increasing plastic recyclability and supporting improvements in plastic waste recovery, for example, through its founding membership in the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. The company is also working on advanced recycling solutions that create and capture value from plastic waste with opportunities for lower overall greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) over the full life cycle of the plastic. In addition, minimizing pellet loss from its operations is integral to our commitment to responsible operations.
In both 2018 and 2019, ExxonMobil had no reportable plastic pellet losses. Although laws and regulations related to the reporting of plastic pellet loss to the environment vary by jurisdiction, ExxonMobil put in place a global standard across all of its resin-handling facilities. ExxonMobil’s objective is to have zero pellet loss to the environment.
Pellets are typically loaded into a bag, truck, or railcar via a mechanical process. Plant personnel monitor facilities via routine daily rounds, and if a loss of containment is discovered, loose pellets are promptly recovered. Pellet recovery equipment, such as skimmers and sieves, is also in place to recover pellets captured in its water drainage systems.
ExxonMobil actively participates in industry initiatives related to pellet loss. Since 2008, ExxonMobil has been a member of Operation Clean Sweep, a voluntary international industry program for plastic manufacturing facilities that encourages the use of best practices for pellet management and containment to reduce pellet loss. It has incorporated Operation Clean Sweep principles into the company’s global Operations Integrity Management System, which is applied at its plastics production and handling facilities around the world and requires a regular assessment of procedures to ensure they are effective, and improvement measures are implemented if needed. ExxonMobil has also incorporated Operation Clean Sweep principles into its Supplier Relationship Management process to inform third-party logistics suppliers about its commitment, and it encourages participation in similar programs or activities to prevent pellet loss.
In 2019, the company joined Operation Clean Sweep-Blue, which is a voluntary extension of Operation Clean Sweep in the United States that includes enhanced commitments for the awareness, prevention, management and reporting of plastic pellet releases to help further reduce plastic pellet loss at industry facilities.
About ExxonMobil Chemical Company
ExxonMobil is committed to producing the energy and chemical products that are essential to modern life and economic development, in a way that helps protect people, the environment and the communities where we operate. This includes mitigating the risks of climate change. Meeting this dual challenge will be even more important in the coming decades as growing populations and global economic expansion are expected to drive energy demand higher.
ExxonMobil Chemical manages a portfolio of commodity and unique performance products that provide the building blocks to meet growing global demand for essential products, creating innovative solutions that improve vast touchpoints in people’s lives.
For more information about ExxonMobil Chemical, visit their website.
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