UAE to Launch Recycled-plastics Trading Exchange

By Robert Grace

January 18, 2022: The United Arab Emirates announced on Jan. 18 plans to create a quality-assured trading platform for plastics feedstock, in a major development designed to facilitate the global trade of recycled plastics. 

This platform, dubbed the Rebound Plastic Exchange (www.reboundplasticexchange.com), aims to enable buyers, sellers and governments to efficiently trade plastics feedstock for recycling with trust and confidence. Scheduled to open for trading by mid-2022, its founders estimate that Rebound will have traded 5 million tons of recycled plastics by 2025. 

International Holding Co. (IHC), the largest company listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, is creating the platform, which will introduce globally recognized standards, certification, insurance and quality assurance into the supply chain for recycled plastics. The initiative aims to increase the efficiency of recycling plastics at scale, provide new economic opportunities and reduce the impact of plastics pollution on the planet, according to Doug Woodring, who conceived the project. 

Facing increasing legislative pressure, global brands have been making public commitments to incorporate more post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics into their products and packaging. Many are aiming for 20 to 30 percent increases in their use of such materials. 

IHC says the Rebound Plastic Exchange will fill a significant gap in the market, facilitating a circular economy as it creates a quality-assured platform to purchase and provide feedstock of recycled plastics to meet the growing demand from multinational companies. 

The news takes on additional significance since more than 70 businesses—including major packaging firms such as Berry Global Group Inc., Amcor Ltd., Alpla Inc. and Greiner AG, and global brands like Coca-Cola Co. and Walmart Inc.—signed on Jan. 17 with a statement, urging negotiators at the upcoming UN Environment Assembly session to start serious talks on a global treaty aimed at cutting virgin plastics production. 

(A more detailed story will appear in the February edition of Plastics Engineering.)