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Shell’s new plastics plant faces challenges: Balancing local and global impacts

Jack Stewart Aug 13, 2019
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Shell's new plant is currently a huge building project. It'll have three reactors and 15 miles of underground piping. Shell

Shell’s new plastics plant faces challenges: Balancing local and global impacts

Jack Stewart Aug 13, 2019
Shell's new plant is currently a huge building project. It'll have three reactors and 15 miles of underground piping. Shell
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President Trump is due to tour a new petrochemical plant in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The site, owned by Shell, is 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River. Once it’s fully up and running, it will create millions of tons of plastics every year, as well as 600 jobs. In the construction phase, up to 6,000 people are employed on site.

This Shell video shows construction at the Pennsylvania site, using one of the largest land cranes in the world.

Many of our conveniences in modern life are made with plastics — they’re crucial for everything from keeping food fresh to helping make vehicles lighter-weight and more efficient. Much of it is recyclable, but not all.

Environmental experts say producing new, virgin plastic makes recycling even more difficult, because it puts pressure on the price and the economics don’t work out.


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