Eastman reaches long-term PET waste supply agreement with Interzero

Photo Credit: Eastman Chemical Co.

Eastman Chemical Co. has reached a long-term feedstock supply agreement with Germany-based Interzero Plastics Recycling, with Interzero providing up to 20,000 tonnes per year of hard to recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste for Eastman’s planned chemical recycling facility in Port-Jerome-sur-Seine, France.

When completed, this new Eastman molecular recycling facility will become the world’s largest material-to-material molecular recycling plant, Eastman officials said in a Sept. 22 news release. Once complete, the facility will recycle approximately 160,000 tonnes of hard-to-recycle polyester waste annually, including coloured and opaque PET waste that cannot be recycled mechanically to create clear and transparent rPET upon completion.

The project is expected to be operational in 2025.

“Eastman is a leader in molecular recycling with decades of innovation expertise,” said Jacco de Haas, Interzero’s chief commercial officer. “Joining forces by combining the leading know how of Eastman and Interzero is the next step in closing the loop with our partners and a step closer towards a world without waste.”

Eastman says its polyester renewal technology provides circularity for hard-to-recycle plastic waste that remains in a linear economy today. This material is typically incinerated because it either cannot be mechanically recycled or must be downcycled using existing technology. Eastman’s chemical recycling technology allows this hard-to-recycle waste to be broken down into its molecular building blocks and then reassembled to become first-quality material without any compromise in performance.

Eastman is headquartered in Kingsport, Tenn.