SABIC says it will boost its recycling presence

Saudi Arabia-based petrochemical firm SABIC says it will work in cooperation with customers Unilever, Vinventions and Walki Group to introduce International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC)-certified circular polymers in 2019, during what it calls “a market foundation stage” for the recycled-content polymers.

SABIC says its certified circular polymers will be produced in the Netherlands from a plastic scrap feedstock developed by United Kingdom-based Plastic Energy Ltd. The firm says the recycled-content polymers will “offer a drop-in alternative for customers looking at meeting the needs of various challenging applications.”

The announcement about the recycled-content polymer effort was made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in late January.

Global consumer products company Unilever, Belgium-based wine cork producer Vinventions and Finland-based packaging materials maker Walki Group will use the new polymers for a variety of consumer products starting in 2019, according to SABIC.

The certified circular polymers will be produced from a feedstock known as Tacoil, a product of Plastic Energy Ltd. created from the recycling of difficult to recycled mixed plastic scrap.

SABIC will process this feedstock on its production site in Geleen, Netherlands, and supply the resulting polymers to the three customers to be used in consumer packaging in the food, beverage, personal care and home care product sectors.

“Sustainability and reuse have been part of SABIC’s mission since its inception” says Yousef Al-Benyan, vice chair and CEO of SABIC. “Today, more than ever, sustainability is a core value that drives our advanced scientific and technological expertise and our pioneering spirit. Along with our eminent customers, we are proud to launch our certified circular polymers, which is further testament to our leadership in advancing the circular economy.”

The announcement in Davos was held in the reusable ICEhouse building constructed using SABIC materials. The ICE in ICEhouse stands for “Innovation for the Circular Economy.”