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August 01, 2023

How does the circular economy work?

By using mechanical and advanced recycling techniques, plastic can be used again and again…and again.

How does the circular economy work (PDF, 4MB)

We believe that one of the keys to a (Real)ationship is the sharing of insights and best practices. So, here, we get real about what we’ve learned in this increasingly important space, how we’re driving change, and what it all means to you.

What is the global plastic waste issue?

Plastics offer vital benefits to society. However, in some places, waste management and traditional recycling infrastructure do not exist, or plastic waste is not managed appropriately. As a result, plastic waste can end up as litter.

Plastics do not belong in our oceans, rivers or landscapes. They do belong in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses, where, every day, they deliver benefits to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

What is driving change?

Because the disposal of end-of-life plastics has become a global problem, legislators are requiring higher rates of plastic recycling and the use of more recycled content. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Recycling Goal targets a recycling rate of 50% by 2030, and California law requires companies to use 15, 25 and 50% post-consumer resin in bottles by 2022, 2025 and 2030 respectively.But legislation isn’t the only driver: converters and brand owners are making pledges on plastics, and consumers expect brands to make it easy for them to make more sustainable choices.

What is Shell doing about plastic waste?

Shell’s responses include:

  • Using plastic waste as a chemical feedstock: Shell has an ambition to use one million tonnes of plastic waste a year in its global chemicals plants by 2025 and is investing across the plastic value chain to achieve this ambition. Using a technique called pyrolysis, plastic waste is used to produce chemicals that can be used to make plastics again. Shell wants to expand the use of this technology at its chemical plants in North America, Europe and Asia.

  • Improving packaging sustainability: Shell Lubricants, which makes and sells engine and industrial oils, is reducing, reusing and recycling packaging across its supply chains and exploring different and more sustainable packaging options.

  • Working with converters: Shell Polymers is actively working with converters to develop plastic packaging that is thinner, stronger, and designed for recyclability

  • Collaborating to tackle plastic waste: Shell is a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. This not-for-profit organization has committed $1.5 billion over five years to help end plastic waste in the environment.

Shell’s activities include:

  • offering a range of biodegradable and carbon-neutral lubricants that are made at solar-powered facilities using sustainable biobased raw materials and packaged using 40% recycled plastic;

  • completely removing single-use plastic bags at more than 1,000 Shell-owned service stations (15% of the total);

  • making its UK service stations 100% free of plastic cutlery; and

  • opening its first retail station built completely with eco-bricks made from plastic waste.

Associated UN Sustainable Development Goals

Key takeaways:

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Does the new Shell Polymers plant have plastic circularity credentials?

Yes! At our polyethylene plant in Monaca, Pennsylvania, we have pioneered several circularity-related features, including:

  • 10 miles of underground piping that has a high content of recycled plastic; and

  • roads that contain waste plastic equivalent to three million grocery bags.

In addition, Shell Polymers is collaborating with local groups to encourage education and more plastics collection and recycling.

How are chemicals produced from plastic waste?

First, plastic waste is collected and sorted. Then it is broken down at a molecular level – we call this advanced recycling – using a special heating process called pyrolysis, which turns it into a liquid. This liquid can then be used in a steam cracker to produce a range of high-end chemicals, from which new plastic products can be made.

These circular chemicals have the same properties as chemicals made from fossil fuels and require no changes to customers’ manufacturing processes.

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Is Shell producing chemicals from plastic waste?

Yes! The first Shell plant to do this was Norco in Louisiana, USA. Shell has partnered with leaders in plastic waste molecular recycling to supply a pyrolysis liquid made from plastic waste that is fed into Norco’s liquid cracker, where it makes chemicals that are the raw materials for everyday items.

After two years of high-quality supply from these companies, Shell has signed supply agreements for more than 100,000 t of fully circular pyrolysis liquid, which will come online over the next three years.

Shell’s intention is to continue to scale up this technology and deploy it at its chemical plants in North America, Europe and Asia, and gradually achieve world-scale production by 2025.

Shell has also invested in plastic-waste-to-chemical technology company BlueAlp. Together, Shell and BlueAlp will build two new conversion units in the Netherlands that are forecast to convert more than 30,000 t/y of plastic waste into pyrolysis oil that will be used at Shell Chemicals Park Moerdijk. Another 50,000 t/y unit will supply pyrolysis oil to Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore. Shell will use the pyrolysis oil to supply customers with sustainable chemicals.

So which companies is Shell working with on plastics circularity?

We’re collaborating across the plastic waste value chain, including with:

  • BlueAlp, which is developing, scaling up, and deploying BlueAlp’s plastic waste to chemicals feedstock technology in Europe;

  • Dialog Group Berhad, which is exploring building a unit to produce pyrolysis oil derived from plastic waste;

  • Remondis, which is involved in the collection and sorting of waste including plastic and biomass;

  • Environmental Solutions Asia, which will supply pyrolysis oil to Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore;

  • Pryme, which will supply pyrolysis oil to Shell’s chemicals plants in Europe; and

  • Nexus Circular, Freepoint Eco-Systems and Alterra Energy, which will supply pyrolysis oil to Shell’s chemicals plant in Louisiana, USA.

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What type of recycling is Shell focusing on?

We’re collaborating across the plastic waste value chain, including with:

There are broadly two types: mechanical recycling and advanced recycling.

Mechanical recycling, which uses grinding, washing, sorting and reprocessing to repurpose plastic material, is the traditional method and is best suited for recycling lightweight plastics such as drinks bottles or milk jugs.

For other plastics that cannot be mechanically recycled and are currently destined for incineration or landfill, there is advanced recycling, in which hard-to-recycle plastic waste such as snack bags, ready-meal trays or plastic films that are unsuitable for mechanical recycling are turned into pyrolysis oil, a liquid that replaces hydrocarbons to produce circular chemicals. These circular chemicals are used by our customers to make a wide variety of products found in everyday life, such as cleaning products, textiles, food packaging and others.

Although Shell is working on a number of technologies and initiatives that reduce and reuse plastic, our particular focus is on advanced recycling. It’s important to note that the two types do not compete; they are complementary. Mechanical recycling is important, and advanced recycling can expand the types of plastic that can be recycled.

Next steps

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Cautionary Note

The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this web content “Shell”, “Shell Group” and “Group” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this web content refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as “joint ventures” and “joint operations”, respectively. “Joint ventures” and “joint operations” are collectively referred to as “joint arrangements”. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as “associates”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

Forward-Looking Statements

This web content contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”, “ambition”, ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘goals’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘may’’, “milestones”, ‘‘objectives’’, ‘‘outlook’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘probably’’, ‘‘project’’, ‘‘risks’’, “schedule”, ‘‘seek’’, ‘‘should’’, ‘‘target’’, ‘‘will’’ and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this web content, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this web content are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc’s Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this web content and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this web content, 28th March 2023. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this web content.

Shell’s net carbon intensity

Also, in this web content we may refer to Shell’s “Net Carbon Intensity”, which include Shell’s carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers’ carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers’ carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the term Shell’s “Net Carbon Intensity” is for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries.

Shell’s net-Zero Emissions Target

Shell’s operating plan, outlook and budgets are forecasted for a ten-year period and are updated every year. They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next ten years. Accordingly, they reflect our Scope 1, Scope 2 and Net Carbon Intensity (NCI) targets over the next ten years. However, Shell’s operating plans cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target and 2035 NCI target, as these targets are currently outside our planning period. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell’s operating plans to reflect this movement. However, if society is not net zero in 2050, as of today, there would be significant risk that Shell may not meet this target.

Forward Looking Non-GAAP measures

This web content may contain certain forward-looking non-GAAP measures such as cash capital expenditure and divestments. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking Non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile those Non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of Shell, such as oil and gas prices, interest rates and exchange rates. Moreover, estimating such GAAP measures with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are calculated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Shell plc’s consolidated financial statements.

The contents of websites referred to in this web content do not form part of this web content.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this web content at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.

Cautionary Note
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