In the United States (US), Plastic Energy Ltd., Freepoint Eco-Systems LLC, and TotalEnergies have announced a strategic partnership under which Plastic Energy and Freepoint Eco-Systems plan to build an advanced recycling plant in Texas (TX), which will transform end-of-life plastic (ELP) waste into a recycled feedstock that TotalEnergies will convert into virgin-quality polymers, which can be used for food-grade packaging.
In total, the project will process and convert 33 000 tonnes per annum of post-consumer end-of-life plastic (ELP) waste that would otherwise be destined for landfill or incineration into raw material for reuse in packaging.
Freepoint Eco-Systems, an affiliate of Freepoint Commodities LLC, a worldwide commodity merchant providing supply chain management services to its customers, will secure the ELP waste plastic.
Freepoint Eco-Systems is thrilled to partner with these two like-minded firms in an effort to reduce plastic disposed of in landfills and to increase the recycling of plastic that heretofore has been challenging to recycle. The Texas project will reduce the need for fossil feedstocks, which results in carbon left in the ground, a more sustainable economy, and a healthier planet, said Jeff McMahon, Managing Director of Freepoint.
Expected to become operational by mid-2024, the plant will use UK-headed Plastic Energy’s patented and proven chemical recycling technology to convert this ELP waste into an optimal feedstock (TACOIL) for the manufacturing of high-quality polymers in TotalEnergies’ Texas-based production units, enabling the creation of items such as flexible and rigid food packaging containers.
Plastic Energy currently has two chemical recycling plants that are in constant operation in Spain and is one of the few companies worldwide that has sold TACOIL from the conversion of end-of-life plastic waste to replace fossil oils in the manufacturing of new plastics.
We are delighted to announce Plastic Energy’s first project in the US, which is a region that has enormous potential for the plastic-to-plastic advanced recycling market. Using our patented and innovative technology, this new advanced recycling plant in the US will be able to treat post-consumer waste that would otherwise be incinerated, landfilled, or end up polluting the environment. Working with Freepoint and TotalEnergies, we will be able to recycle more plastics and reduce the depletion of natural resources, which benefits the circular economy, said Carlos Monreal, Founder, and CEO of Plastic Energy.
TotalEnergies and Plastic Energy announced in September 2020 a joint venture to build a plastic waste conversion facility with a capacity of 15 000 tonnes per annum at the TotalEnergies Grandpuits zero-crude platform in France.
This project is expected to be operational in early 2023.
This strategic partnership in the US following the construction of the first advanced recycling plant in France with Plastic Energy are important steps in the development of the advanced recycling of plastic waste worldwide as well as in the US specifically. It shows our commitment to work with our customers to meet the growing demand for more innovative plastics with ever-higher performance, especially for durable applications. It will contribute to addressing the challenge of the circular economy and to achieve our ambition of producing 30 percent recycled and renewable polymers by 2030, said Valérie Goff, SVP, Polymers at TotalEnergies.
