TRINSEO
Collaboration with Coexpan / Validation of PS recycling technology
 The companies’ partnership is focused on advancing PS chemical recycling for dairy applications (Photo: Coexpan) |
US plastics and rubber producer Trinseo (Berwyn, Pennsylvania; www.trinseo.com) and Spanish rigid sheet manufacturer Coexpan (Madrid; www.coexpan.com) are collaborating on testing various polystyrene recycling technologies with the aim of developing recylate for the global dairy industry’s form and fill (FFS) market. The goal is also to defend PS as a preferred product for dairy applications. At its “Innotech” innovation technology centre for rigid and flexible packaging, the Spanish company plans to use Trinseo materials and various technologies to test PS recyclate and demonstrate the viability of mechanical and chemical recycling processes. The first industrial volumes are expected to be in the market by the third quarter of 2022.
As Trinseo explains, the dairy sector’s traditional use of the styrenic polymer has been challenged recently due to “misperceptions concerning its circularity and recyclability.” Calling PS “a game changer for the FFS market,” the collaboration partners said this polymer offers “unique potential,” not only because of its closed loop recycling process, but also because it has a lower carbon footprint and an extended lifecycle due to its simplicity and ease to fully recycle. This, they said, is a major competitive advantage over all alternatives.
Nicolas Joly, VP Plastics and Feedstocks at Trinseo, said the cooperation with Coexpan marks another major milestone on the way to seeing recycled PS products on shelves. The Spanish company added that its partnership with Trinseo “provides a unique platform that reaffirms our goal of promoting and achieving a circular economy model.”
The pact with Coexpan is one of a number of projects Trinseo is pursuing to meet the goals of the European Commission’s circular economy drive. Packaging applications are a major focus for the US company, which is also cooperating with two packaging manufacturers, Greiner Packaging (GPI, Kremsmünster / Austria; www.greiner-gpi.com) and Fernholz (Meinerzhagen / Germany; www.fernholz-verpackungen.de – see Plasteurope.com of 20.12.2019).
As Trinseo explains, the dairy sector’s traditional use of the styrenic polymer has been challenged recently due to “misperceptions concerning its circularity and recyclability.” Calling PS “a game changer for the FFS market,” the collaboration partners said this polymer offers “unique potential,” not only because of its closed loop recycling process, but also because it has a lower carbon footprint and an extended lifecycle due to its simplicity and ease to fully recycle. This, they said, is a major competitive advantage over all alternatives.
Nicolas Joly, VP Plastics and Feedstocks at Trinseo, said the cooperation with Coexpan marks another major milestone on the way to seeing recycled PS products on shelves. The Spanish company added that its partnership with Trinseo “provides a unique platform that reaffirms our goal of promoting and achieving a circular economy model.”
The pact with Coexpan is one of a number of projects Trinseo is pursuing to meet the goals of the European Commission’s circular economy drive. Packaging applications are a major focus for the US company, which is also cooperating with two packaging manufacturers, Greiner Packaging (GPI, Kremsmünster / Austria; www.greiner-gpi.com) and Fernholz (Meinerzhagen / Germany; www.fernholz-verpackungen.de – see Plasteurope.com of 20.12.2019).
09.09.2020 Plasteurope.com [245876-0]
Published on 09.09.2020
German version of this article...