US recycled plastics Senior Editor, Emily Friedman and Americas recycled plastics Analyst, Josh Dill, reflect on their experiences and key takeaways from the 2024 Paper and Plastics Recycling Conference held in Chicago, Illinois this week.

Listen in as they dive into various topics regarding material recovery facilities (MRFs), extended producer responsibility (EPR), recycled content brand committments, chemical recycling and more.

SINGAPORE (ICIS) – Asian methanol markets were driven more by sentiment than changes in fundamentals, in recent weeks as market participants reacted to escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. However, some supply changes in coming months are expected to alter the market landscape in Q1 2025.

In this chemical podcast, ICIS markets editor Damini Dabholkar and senior analyst Ann Sun discuss recent market conditions with an outlook ahead in Asia.

The overall winner of this year’s ICIS Innovation Awards - BASF, Linde and SABIC’s electrically-heated steam cracker furnace - could have a massive impact on overall chemical industry emissions if the technology is widely adopted. 

-          World’s first electrically-heated steam cracker at demonstration stage

-          Cuts CO2 emissions by up to 95% compared with natural gas-fired crackers

-          Linde, BASF, SABIC win shows strength of partnerships

-          Challenges include obtaining sufficient renewable energy, financing for scale up

-          Financial risks can be reduced by converting one furnace at a time

Markets Editor Stephanie Wix is joined by Senior Editor Manager Vicky Ellis, markets reporter Meeta Ramnani, and Senior Analyst Jincy Varghese, as they discuss the key trends from the 29th Fakuma plastics processing trade fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany, in this latest ICIS podcast.

They explore discussion topics heard at the event last week, from the highest concerns to the lowest expectations. They also explain the clash of pessimism and optimism between markets including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), and also engineering plastics polyacetal (POM) and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT).

SINGAPORE (ICIS) – The short-term demand outlook for recycled polymers from Asia remains sluggish especially for low-value grades, due to multiple factors - mainly poor economics and brand users’ preference of cheaper virgin plastics.

In this chemical podcast, ICIS senior editor Arianne Perez discusses recent market conditions with an outlook ahead in Asia.

Join Global Analyst Team Lead for Recycling Helen McGeough as she looks ahead to the 3rd ICIS Recycled Polymers Conference on 7 November in Berlin and tells Matt Tudball what she's looking forward to seeing from the diverse group of topics and presenters, including: 

3rd ICIS Recycled Polymers Conference | Europe

Hotel Palace Berlin, Germany | Conference: 7 November Training: 6 November

You will be able to hear from out ICIS experts on the following session:

To discover more and register you place click here > https://events.icis.com/website/11605/home/ 

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--With 2025 contract discussions for Asia ethylene underway at the olefins trade conference in Xiamen, China, ICIS markets editor Josh Quah outlines what’s at the top of the list of concerns for players as they look ahead to the coming year.

Chemicals sector executives are increasingly facing up to the idea that the sector is going through a process of reinvention, with no big recovery on the horizon and a return to pre-crisis normalcy less likely. Executives are now looking at what the next steps for the sector will be.

In this Think Tank podcast, Tom Brown interviews Paul Hodges, chairman of New Normal Consulting, Katherine Sale,  ICIS head of editorial strategy, and Chris Barker, senior editor covering PVC and caustic soda, on impressions from the EPCA assembly.

According to attendees at the annual European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) conference in Berlin held during 7-10 October, consumption in 2025 is not expected to recover for mixed xylenes (MX), paraxylene (PX) and orthoxylene (OX), with various hurdles highlighted. 

In this episode, market editors Zubair Adam (MX) and Miguel Rodriguez Fernandez (PX, OX) along with Rob Peacock, ICIS lead analyst for aromatics, share the sentiment captured after talking with various market players at the conference.

Ahead of the 3rd ICIS Recycled Polymers Conference in Berlin on 7 November, Senior Analyst for Recycling Egor Dementev discusses the challenges and opportunities for both mechanical and chemical recycling with Annick Meerschman, Innovation Director at CEFIC.

PLUS... 20 CEFIC members are entitled to receive 50% off their registration to the ICIS Recycled Polymers Conference by using code: ICISCEFICMEM 

Offer is run on a first come first serve basis. 

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