As a few people have pointed out, this feels a lot like an attempt at solving one environmental problem (proliferation of waste plastic) by exacerbating another environmental problem (burning more fossil fuels). But if it took off, it could potentially serve as something of an intermediary step between our fossil fuel economy and a renewables-based economy. After all, the switch from horses to automobiles took 50 years. (https://thetyee.ca/News/2013/03/06/Horse-Dung-Big-Shift/, https://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/blogs/horses-h...) A similar shift to renewables could easily take as long or longer.