Ineos moves to ramp up recycled plastics offering
UK chemicals firm INEOS announces it has made progress incorporating recycled plastics into more challenging applications, as Coca-Cola launches two new recycled plastics commitments in Europe
A pair of initiatives seeking to tackle the mounting global plastics crisis launched yesterday, as more manufacturers seek to slash their use of virgin plastics and move towards circular economy principles.
In the UK, chemicals giant INEOS Olefins & Poylmers announced a new supply partnership with waste management firm Saica Natur for recycled LDPE and LLDPE, which is designed to help the chemicals firm meet growing demand for increased levels of high-quality recycled plastics.
As well as stepping up its output of recycled plastics, the partnership should enable INEOS to develop high-performance polyethylene resins which enable challenging applications such as stretch and lamination films to incorporate more than 60 per cent recycled plastics, the firm said.
"Together with Saica Natur we have the innovation, drive, know-how and capability to move towards a circular economy for plastics in flexible packaging," said Rob Ingram, CEO at INEOS.
"Saica are experts in recycling post-consumer plastic film. INEOS has the polymer science expertise to improve the quality, specification, and performance of the finished product. We are very pleased to add these new flexible packaging products to our Recycl-IN range."
Elsewhere, at the consumer end of the supply chain, Coca-Cola in Western Europe yesterday announced a pair of new commitments as the firm works to slash its use of virgin plastics. Coca-Cola Netherlands and Coca-Cola Norway both pledged to shift to plastic bottles made from 100 per cent recycled plastic (rPET) over the course of the next year.
The move follows the announcement at the end of last year that the company's Swedish operations were taking the same step.
Coca-Cola Netherlands will switch all small bottles in October 2020 and all large bottles through the first half of 2021, it said, saving more than 10,000 tonnes of new virgin oil-based plastic.
Coca-Cola Norway will make the transition through the first half of 2021, removing around 4,300 tonnes of virgin plastic, it added.
The move supports Coca-Cola European Partners' (CCEP) ambition to accelerate towards the use of 100 per cent rPET and the elimination of new virgin oil-based PET in all of its bottles within the next decade, the firm said.
CCEP's vice president of sustainability Jon Franses also said the announcement further highlights the need for the wider roll out of Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) to improve collection of recycled plastics and promote circular economy principles.
"Markets with well-designed DRS such as those in Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway not only have high collection rates but also have the capacity to collect a higher grade of material with less contamination," Franses said.
"Coca-Cola in Western Europe is a firm supporter of the implementation of well-designed Deposit Return Schemes across Europe, recognising the role they can play as part of local, closed-loop recycling system."
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