Republic Services, Ravago partner to build recycled plastic production network

Republic Services, one of North America’s largest waste and recycling companies, has partnered with Luxembourg-based polymer recycling and distribution company Ravago with the aim of advancing circularity in the plastics industry.

Through the partnership, Blue Polymers LLC, the companies are developing a network of facilities designed to produce 100 percent-postconsumer-recycled (PCR) resin to supply plastic manufacturers’ “growing demand for sustainable solutions,” they say in a statement.

Phoenix-based Republic last year announced plans to construct four polymer centers across the United States, with the first on track to open in Las Vegas this year. These sortation plants each will have a dedicated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) line and another for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP), processing plastics collected from Republic’s surrounding residential and commercial customers.

The new Blue Polymers network will be co-located with the Republic Polymer Centers, taking in recycled polyethylene (PE) and PP from those sites to create PCR resin for consumer packaging and other applications, converting HDPE and PP into fully formulated products for use in food- and nonfood-grade applications. Blue Polymers' product offerings also will include custom-blended and compounded materials for individual customers to help achieve sustainability goals and comply with federal, state or local requirements for recycled content, the companies say.

“Companies today are setting up aggressive recycled content goals, and Republic Services has a unique opportunity to meet the demand for high-quality recycled plastics through our polymer centers and now the creation of Blue Polymers,” Republic President and CEO Jon Vander Ark says. “Ravago’s leadership in plastics recycling and compounding makes [it] a natural partner as we take the next step in advancing plastics circularity.”

According to a news release, four Blue Polymers centers are planned to open over the next four years, beginning late next year, and are expected to produce up to 300 million pounds of recycled plastics annually.

Additionally, a portion of recycled PET, or rPET, from Republic Polymer Centers will be marketed and distributed by Ravago through its customer network.

“Ravago is dedicated to investing and leading innovation in plastic recycling globally,” Ravago President and CEO Jim Duffy says. “Partnering with Republic Services in the creation of Blue Polymers to provide transparency in the postconsumer recycling process is transformative.

“With Republic’s national collection and recycling center network and state-of-the-art Polymer Centers, we will be able to provide consistent volumes of the highest-quality postconsumer recycled resins to the market.”

In early July, Republic Vice President of Recycling and Sustainability Pete Keller announced the upcoming Republic Polymer Centers will supply rPET flake to The Coca-Cola Co., which has pledged to use at least 50 percent recycled content in its packaging by 2030.

Republic processed 5 million tons of recyclables last year, more than 300 million pounds of which were plastic, and with Ravago’s expertise in distribution, resale, compounding and recycling, the companies say they are positioned to help fulfill sustainable packaging demand and efficiently deliver to customers at scale.

Ravago has 45 manufacturing facilities worldwide, 19 of which are recycling and compounding plants.