In the future, coloured and opaque PET packaging waste will serve as the raw material for Eastman’s (Kingsport, Tennessee, USA; www.eastman.com) almost completed methanolysis depolymerisation plant in Kingsport. Compatriot firm Rumpke (Colerain, Ohio; www.rumpke.com), one of the largest US waste disposal companies by its own account, is to supply the planned 110,000 t of pre-sorted waste annually.

Both companies recently concluded a corresponding supply contract for the waste that was previously considered non-recyclable.

Eastman – known for copolyesters used to produce high-quality packaging, films, and sheets – said it intends to extract monomers such as dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) for future polyester primary products from household waste once the plant is operational, which is expected to happen in a few weeks. It should then be possible to produce new packaging from the primary material. A second depolymerisation plant in the US is already being considered.

Related: Eastman selects site in France for polyester fibre and PET waste reclaim plant

The company is following a similar path in France, where PET beverage bottles are to be recycled from 2025, together with Canadian company Loop Industries (Terrebonne, Quebec; www.loopindustries.com). Both want to invest up to USD 1 bn (EUR 926 mn) in a corresponding facility near Le Havre. Supply agreements for raw materials have been concluded with Interzero (Berlin; www.interzero.de/en) among others.