Producers, recyclers, and global brands have formed a consortium to develop an industrial chemical recycling industry in France. The consortium includes Total, plastic recycling technology provider Recycling Technologies, and global brands Nestlé and Mars.
The consortium will examine the technical and economic feasibility of recycling complex plastic waste, such as small, flexible, and multilayered food-grade packaging. These products are currently considered nonrecyclable and are either incinerated or disposed of in landfills. “New recycling technologies, such as chemical recycling, will take performance to the next level and accelerate the circular economy for post-consumer plastic waste, especially when it is complex,” said Jean Hornain, CEO of Citeo (Paris), a nonprofit targeting a reduction in the environmental impact of packaging and paper.
“By addressing the circular economy challenges of food-grade plastics, chemical recycling is a perfect addition to our existing mechanical recycling activities,” said Bernard Pinatel, president, refining and chemicals at Total. “The project announced today to develop an industrial sector involving major players in the packaging value chain is an important step in our ambition to produce 30% recycled polymers by 2030.”
Mars has set a goal for 100% of its plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable packaging by 2025. “We plan to reduce unnecessary packaging, redesign for circularity, and invest to close the loop,” said Kate Wylie, global vice president/sustainability at Mars. “Identifying and investing in the right waste management systems is a critical part of the solution to address the plastic waste problem. We support this new pyrolysis project in France to help identify circular systems for post-consumer plastic packaging and consequently increase the scale of recycling across Europe.”
“We are aiming for 100% of our packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2025. Combining our expertise in a collective project to improve recycling is something we need to do to tackle the global plastic issue,” said Mathieu Tuau, head of packaging and sustainability at Nestlé France.
By Natasha Alperowicz
Source: Chemical Week
INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has today announced the official opening of a new world-scale ABS[1] facility located in Ningbo, China, together with its joint venture partner SINOPEC. The facility has an annual nameplate capacity of 600,000 tonnes.
The merger of Röhm’s Acrylic Products business unit and SABIC’s Functional Forms business has resulted in the formation of Polyvantis. This new company will offer extruded products in the forms film, sheet, pipe and rod for markets that include building and construction, transportation and aviation, electrical and electronics, automotive and home and garden.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc) is considering plans to acquire upstream oil and gas company Wintershall DEA, an affiliate of BASF SE, according to a Bloomberg report citing people with knowledge of the matter. A deal to acquire Wintershall DEA could be worth more than €10 billion, the report said. BASF and Adnoc declined to comment on the report.
