“Chemical recycling will enable us to circulate carbon in society over and over again and reduce crude oil dependency, which is one of Neste’s key targets as a sustainability leader in our industry.”
Finnish renewable diesel and chemical provider Neste and German recycling provider Remondis have signed an agreement to collaborate in the development of chemical recycling of plastic waste.
The companies will focus on developing and accelerating chemical recycling with a target to reach an annual capacity to process over 200 kilotons of waste plastic.
Mechanical recycling of plastics has been making a positive contribution to circular economy, raw material security, and climate protection for decades.
Through joining forces, Remondis and Neste combine Remondis’s waste collecting and sorting capabilities and Neste’s experience and know-how in oil refining and processing of low-quality waste and residue materials.
The companies wish to build an ecosystem around chemical recycling to enable other companies in the value chain to join the initiative and complement mechanical recycling by closing the material circle also for those plastics that today are difficult or impossible to recycle.
Chemical recycling of plastics breaks down plastic waste into a raw material for the plastics and chemicals industries to use in the production of new high-quality plastics, chemicals and fuels.
The issue of chemical recycling has gained much prominence in recent times. For example, Brazilian plastics specialist Braskem has started chemical recycling of plastic waste trials and aims to complete them by the end of this year.
“In order to establish chemical recycling of plastics at an industrial scale, it is necessary that the recycling industry and the chemical industry work closely together. The partnership between Remondis and Neste will focus on creating an optimal recycling process to make even more plastics circular,” said Jürgen Ephan, Managing Director at Remondis Recycling.
Mercedes Alonso, Executive Vice President, Renewable Polymers and Chemicals at Neste, said: “We are driven by our purpose of creating a healthier planet for our children.
“With Remondis among our sustainability-oriented value chain partners, we can build a chemical recycling solution to truly expand the possibilities of recycling those materials we cannot recycle today.
“Chemical recycling will enable us to circulate carbon in society over and over again and reduce crude oil dependency, which is one of Neste’s key targets as a sustainability leader in our industry. Collaboration between Remondis and Neste will bring us one step closer to fulfilling our commitment to process annually more than one million tons of waste plastic from 2030 onwards.”
According to Remondis and Neste, there is a need for “new capacities, technologies and supportive legislative framework to meet the EU’s ambitious recycling targets”. Chemical recycling will be critical for reaching these targets.
If you were interested in this bioeconomy story, you may also be interested in the ones below.
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Read: 5 minutes with… Lars Brger, Head of Product Marketing at Neste.
Read: Neste exploring using waste plastics as raw material for plastics and fuels.
Read: Braskem starts trials on chemical recycling of plastic waste.
