NOV 29 2023 COPY of Smoke and Mirrors - the Realities of Plastic Credits and Offsetting

The listed projects on two of the main proponents of plastic offsetting — Verra and Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX) — were analysed to provide a snapshot of the current realities of plastic offsetting, beyond the promises and marketing. [...] The WRC is ‘based on the volume [sic] of plastic waste recycled above what would have happened in the absence of the Plastic Program project,’ according to Verra. [...] Century’s chairman, Chris Po, is the husband of PCX’s founder, Nanette Medved-Po, who also chairs the Po family council.’ The Po family council was set up to ensure the longevity of the Po family business - Century Pacific Foods, and is composed of family members, leading to a clear conflict of interest where the family business is paying another business owned by the same family. [...] The Plastic Waste Reduction Standard states that ‘a project activity is additional if it can demonstrate that the activity results in collected or recycled plastic waste that is more than what would most likely have occurred in the absence of the project activity and the activity would not have occurred in the absence of the incentive provided by the plastic crediting mechanism (emphasis added).’. [...] 15 Plastic credits encourage the burning of plastic Verra states that its standard ensures the plastic has been disposed of in a way that prevents environmental leakage and is instead recirculated in the economy — a phrase that could reasonably assume the plastic is recycled.