Major styrenics companies Ineos Styrolution (Frankfurt / Germany; www.ineos-styrolution.com), Total (Paris / France; www.total.com), Trinseo (Berwyn, Pennsylvania / USA; www.trinseo.com) and Versalis (Milan / Italy; www.versalis.eni.com) have signed an incorporation agreement for their joint industry initiative, Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS; www.styrenics-circular-solutions.com).

Jens Kathmann, secretary general of SCS, said the signing was a milestone in its voluntary pledge. Founded in June 2017, SCS was established to promote recycling solutions for styrenic-based plastics to support a circular economy. “The potential for polystyrene recycling is enormous,” said Kathmann. “We know that polystyrene has an unparalleled capacity for closed-loop recycling, when properly collected and sorted.”

According to SCS, “game-changing” technologies will enable PS-, EPS- and other styrene-based plastics to be used many times over in high-quality applications and, ultimately, in products that come into contact with food.

The newly incorporated platform will enable the inclusion of new members of the styrenics value chain, such as recyclers, waste management companies, converters and brand owners, as well as build on its collaboration with long-standing partners, such as PlasticsEurope (Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticseurope.org), as well as other organisations. Ineos Styrolution, Trinseo and Total have also previously launched collaborations for PS recycling – see Plasteurope.com of 06.12.2017, 27.11.2018 and 14.05.2018.