Waste generation has increased significantly worldwide in recent decades, and this growth is expected to continue. Over 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) are generated annually worldwide, and this figure is expected to increase by approximately 70% by 2050. With such huge volumes of waste generated, the need for governments to provide adequate waste treatment and disposal services becomes even more important. In Russia, the share of recycled waste has decreased from 52% to 43% over the past 5 years, meaning that a significant share of waste is sent to landfill. Despite the increase in the total volume of waste generated, the absolute value for disposal and neutralization changes insignificantly from year to year. This suggests that there are no reserves in the capacity of existing disposal facilities (including capacities for separate collection, sorting and processing of production and consumption waste). Solution: Efficient management of industrial waste is one of the pressing issues of improving the environmental friendliness of production and reducing the overall costs (expenses) of enterprises by minimizing environmental risks associated with waste management. Recycling waste into products is one of the main elements of the transition to a closed-loop economy. SIBUR's products are used in most industries. SIBUR strives to develop new products that are safe for consumers and the environment, use sustainable raw materials and, thereby, implement the principles of a closed-loop economy at all stages of the value chain. One of SIBUR's strategic goals is to promote the involvement of at least 100 thousand tons of polymer waste annually in recycling within the framework of its own investment projects and projects with partners. In 2019, SIBUR began implementing a project at one of its production facilities, the POLIEF plant in the Republic of Bashkortostan, to launch the production of "green" PET granules containing secondary raw materials, powered by electricity from a solar power plant. In 2022, the production of "green" PET granules containing secondary raw materials and a solar power plant were launched. The capacity of the solar power plant is 4.9 MW, the area is 8 hectares (11 football fields), the number of solar panels is 10,080. POLIEF became the first industrial enterprise of SIBUR to use green electricity in the production of products - PET granules with the involvement of secondary raw materials. The technology for creating eco-packaging using electricity from a solar power plant with the involvement of recycled plastic can become a comprehensive solution to environmental pollution problems, reducing the amount of waste, emissions of pollutants (including greenhouse gases). This technology allows you to create packaging that is environmentally friendly, safe for the environment and recyclable.
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