MOSCOW (MRC) -- Loop Industries (Montreal, Canada) and Suez (Paris, France) say they have formed a partnership with the aim of building a facility in Europe dedicated to the recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), according to Chemweek.
Site selection and engineering are targeted for completion by mid-2021, with commissioning of the facility projected for 2023, they say. No potential investment figure has been released.
The partnership will combine Suez’s resource management expertise and Loop’s patented low-energy technology for the production of 100% recycled plastics to help meet demand from global brands for recycled content for packaging, according to the companies in a joint statement. The facility “will respond to huge growth in demand in Europe from global beverage and consumer goods brand companies, committed to aggressive targets for a high level of recycled content in their products,” they say. The facility will have the potential to produce the equivalent of approximately 4.2 billion food-grade beverage bottles per year made of 100% recycled PET plastics, they say.
In 2019 Suez processed 450,000 metric tons of plastics in Europe, producing 150,000 metric tons of recycled plastics, Suez says. The company has been involved in mechanical plastics recycling for over 10 years, it says. Suez is “highly convinced by the complementarity between mechanical and chemical recycling solutions,” says Jean-Marc Boursier, the company’s COO.
Loop says that utilizing its technology at the proposed facility would enable savings of 180,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, compared with producing virgin PET via a traditional petrochemical process. “Europe is leading the charge against petroleum-based plastics: through tougher regulations and taxes, they are setting a global example on transitioning to a more circular economy,” says Loop’s CEO Daniel Solomita.
Europe consumes approximately 5.5 million metric tons/year of PET, with less than 7% making its way back into bottles, the companies say. The proposed facility would bring an end-of-life solution to plastic waste not currently being recycled and directly increase recycling rates in the country where it is built.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 367,720 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, up by 19% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes in June.
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