Abu Dhabi-based investment giant International Holding Company (IHC; www.ihcuae.com) has announced plans to create an online exchange marketplace that would enable traders in recycled plastics from around the world to buy and sell materials.

IHC has founded a subsidiary, Rebound, which is planning to launch the Rebound Plastic Exchange by mid-2022. The Arab investment firm said in a statement that the new exchange would “introduce globally recognised standards, certification, insurance, and quality assurance into the supply chain”. It further noted, “The platform aims to increase the efficiency of recycling plastic at scale, provide new economic opportunities and reduce the impact of plastic pollution on our planet.”

The investment group, founded in 1998, has interests in a variety of industrial sectors and reported turnover of AED 7 bn (EUR 1.7 bn) in 2020. It said that by 2025, approximately 5 mn t of recycled plastic will have been traded via Rebound – the CO₂ equivalent of removing emissions from 5 mn cars.

Syed Basar Shueb, IHC’s chief executive and managing director, said, “The availability of a reliable advanced recycling system will play an essential role in helping address plastic in the environment of many countries around the globe.”

According to market experts, however, the 5 mn t trade goal is very ambitious – in the EU alone, the target use is 10 mn t of recyclates by 2025. Some others are critical of the international trade of waste and recyclate products altogether, stating that the trade is neither environment-friendly nor efficient, nor does it play into the spirit of resource protection and circular economy. “Every country, every region should recycle its own waste,” is the sentiment among critics.