The UK’s Recycling Technologies (Swindon; www.recyclingtechnologies.co.uk) has partnered with French energy group Total (Paris; www.total.com) and major consumer brands Nestlé (Vevey / Switzerland; www.nestle.com) and Mars (McLean, Virginia / USA; www.mars.com) to validate the feasibility of its proprietary pyrolysis-based recycling process.

This technology can recycle mixed low-grade plastics waste, including flexible and complex, multilayered packaging, into feedstocks for polymer production. Trial volumes of “Plaxx” oil derived from waste at Recycling Technologies’ Swindon plant will be processed by the companies into new polymers. The collaboration is in response to a call by French recycling association Citeo (Paris; www.citeo.com) for projects to promote the ecodesign, recycling and recovery of plastics and paper in France.

“This cross-sector partnership is a great example of the industry working together to bring about the changes necessary to make plastic sustainable. We must carve out a clear pathway that others in the value chain will follow to boost plastic recycling capacity in France and elsewhere,” commented Elena Parisi, sales and marketing director at Recycling Technologies. Citeo’s CEO Jean Hornain added that the “ambitious” project meets Citeo’s goal of finding end-to-end solutions for all packaging.

Total’s ambition is to produce 30% recycled polymers by 2030, while both Nestlé and Mars are aiming for 100% plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.