Tees Business Tees Business Issue 15 | Page 34

34 | Tees Business

THE

FUTURE OF

PLASTIC

Daren Smith - calling for change but speaking up for plastic .
SABIC chief speaks out on the need for change

David Attenborough ’ s inspiring television documentary , Blue Planet II , has brought the issue of plastic marine litter to the forefront of the public conscience . But is the solution to the problem really striving for plastic-free communities ?

SABIC chief Daren Smith believes that the use and application of plastic provides great benefits to society and the quality of our everyday lives . There is , however , a plastic waste problem that together we need to solve .
Research and media coverage has removed any lingering doubt of the damage that irresponsibly discarded waste plastic can cause .
And yet the modern world , as we know it today , would simply not exist without plastics . The sector is huge and complex and it would be naïve to tar all plastics with the same brush .
Global giant SABIC , whose UK operations are headquartered on Teesside , manufactures chemicals that form the building blocks for a range of plastic products that we all use in everyday life .