Agilyx, AmSty receive ISCC Plus certification for circular polystyrene

Americas Styrenics LLC (AmSty), a polystyrene (PS) producer based in The Woodlands, Texas, and Agilyx, an advanced recycling technology company based in Tigard, Oregon, have announced that the two companies have completed a circular pathway for PS recycling. According to a news release from the two companies, PS scrap is currently being transformed from solid form to its liquid feedstock called recycled styrene monomer (RSM) at the two companies’ joint venture facility, Regenyx, which operates in Tigard. 

The two companies have received International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus certification for the complete pathway from waste aggregation to new PS production. As a result, AmSty and Agilyx report that these products can now be put back into the marketplace with original quality, holding third-party certification of recycled content.

From the consumer’s perspective, PS recycling begins as a consumer product used in the home—a food package or meat tray for example—and up until now has ended in the recycling bin or trash can.  Now, when a consumer uses a polystyrene product, it has the potential to be collected from mixed plastic waste, converted to feedstock and processed into new polystyrene. From there, it can be formed into new products without any loss of material quality and enjoyed by consumers again and again, according to AmSty and Agilyx. Through the ISCC Plus certification process, recycled content can be assigned, certified and claimed by package manufacturers. 

“With this achievement, we can begin moving circular recycled products from concept to reality, and directly into the hands of consumers,” says Tim Barnette, vice president, polymers and sustainability, at AmSty.  “At a time when people are clamoring for solutions to sustainability advancements, we are proud to offer a circular solution from the plastics sector.”

“We are proud of the work that has been done at the Regenyx facility to accelerate the available capacity of recycled content for producers,” says Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “The advancements we have made at Regenyx along with ISCC Plus certification is further concrete proof that we have created a circular recycling pathway for polystyrene recycling.”