plastic credit

They analyzed publicly available databases of two prominent proponents of plastic offsetting, the accreditor Verra and the Plastic Credit Exchange marketplace.

The report says some projects are claiming credits for infrastructure built years before, despite claims that the plastic credit revenue can enable the development of such waste management infrastructure that is otherwise not viable, it says.

It also says there are serious doubts about the additionality of Verra’s plastic credit program – a key offsetting concept meaning that credits pay for activities, in this case waste collection and recycling, that wouldn’t happen without the financial programs.

The Plastic Credit Exchange says its mission is to accelerate the transition to a circular economy and build a future where no plastic waste ends up in nature.

Cleanup practices could also lead to greenwashing through new "plastic credit" schemes to offset the emissions of plastics through the indiscriminate use of unselective and harmful plastic removal technologies.