MOSCOW (MRC) -- Berry Global Group, Evansville, Indiana, has announced that Madrid-based Repsol, its longtime supplier, will supply it with circular resins, according to Recycling Today.
The Spanish multienergy global company will supply Berry with International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus-certified circular polyolefins from its Repsol Reciclex range. According to a news release from Berry Global, these polyolefins are obtained by advanced recycling, enabled by the adoption of new chemical recycling technologies, of postconsumer plastic scrap not suitable for traditional recycling.
As a result of the agreement, Berry says it will procure food-grade polypropylene (PP) for food and health care packaging. The packaging company will initially use the materials in manufacturing at its European packaging facilities.
Berry reports that Repsol has certified all its petrochemical complexes to produce circular polyolefins under the ISCC Plus certification, which guarantees the traceability of the plastic scrap used at the source. At the same time, Repsol applies the latest technology to ensure the circular polyolefins have the same quality as virgin polyolefins. Additionally, Berry and Repsol deem advanced recycling “as complementary to traditional mechanical recycling and as a critical component of their respective circular economy strategies.”
“We continue to utilize new and innovative methods to create more environmentally sustainable packaging and are proud to partner with like-minded suppliers in these efforts,” says Jean-Marc Galvez, president of Berry’s Consumer Packaging International division. “By recovering and diverting plastic that would have otherwise been sent to landfill or incineration, we are working towards our common goal of promoting a circular economy.”
“At Repsol, we are continuously working on different alternatives to offer our clients materials with recycled content that meet the different demands for their specific markets, especially those for high added value applications. With this recent alliance with Berry, we also reinforce our ambition to recycle the equivalent of 20 percent of our polyolefins production,” says Rafael Jimenez, Polyolefins Business Unit director at Repsol.
Berry reports that it is ahead of schedule for its Impact 2025 sustainability strategy. The company has set a goal of incorporating 10 percent recycled content across its fast-moving consumer goods packaging. Repsol has also set a target to become a net zero company by 2050 and has had a circular economy strategy since 2016 that has been applied throughout its entire value chain.
As MRC reported earlier, Repsol shut down its cracker in Tarragona (Spain) for maintenance in the fourth quarter of 2019. The turnaround at this steam cracker, which produces 702,000 mt/year of ethylene and 372,000 mt/year of propylene, was pushed back from Q3 2019. The exact dates of maintenance works were not disclosed.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and PP.
According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
Repsol S.A is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 28 countries. The bulk of its assets are located in Spain.
MRC