Ravago, Neste partner to chemically recycle plastic

Ravago, a Belgium-based distributor and recycler of polymers, and Finland-based Neste, a provider of renewable diesel and renewable jet fuel and an expert in chemical solutions, have partnered to chemically recycle plastic scrap. The companies have a goal to process more than 200,000 metric tons of plastic scrap.

Neste and Ravago say they want to accelerate the circularity of materials and improve resource efficiency in the petrochemical industry while also providing sustainable alternatives to primary fossil feedstock. According to a news release from Ravago, chemically recycling plastic scrap will allow the petrochemical industry to meet its recycling targets and develop a more sustainable, climate-friendly offering. Ravago has a wide geographical reach and expertise in plastics recycling and Neste has a track record in upgrading challenging refinery feedstock.

In addition, this collaboration will help increase Europe’s annual recycling rate of postconsumer plastic scrap by 25 percent to 30 percent from the current level, says Mercedes Alonso, executive vice president of renewable polymers and chemicals at Neste. 

Chemical recycling also will enable the companies to upgrade even colored and mixed plastic packaging scrap into high-quality raw material for the production of new plastics, chemicals and fuels, Ravago reports in a news release.

“At Ravago, we carry the waste issue at heart. Our company has been mechanically recycling polymers for nearly 60 years; however, chemical recycling should be part of a sustainable solution that our society requires today to address the growing need for valorizing consumer waste,” says Theo Roussis, CEO of Ravago. “We are proud and energized to establish this partnership with Neste, who is the leading company in the field of renewables, as it provides a solid foundation to enable the different nascent technologies to mature and the broader industry to take off. We want to give a definitive answer to this problem.”