Ineos Styrolution (Frankfurt / Germany; www.ineos-styrolution.com) said it has signed an agreement with chocolate maker Ferrero to explore the feasibility of using the chemical and plastics group’s advanced recycling concepts, including depolymerisation, for future packaging solutions. The Ineos subsidiary is developing technology to convert complex plastics waste back into monomer and subsequently into fully recyclable, near-virgin-quality materials that meet EU circular economy goals and guidelines for food contact applications.

Like a number of European brands that use packaging, Ferrero has committed to making all of its materials 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. The company is working with Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE, Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticsrecyclers.eu) and others to develop PRE’s RecyClass, a pan-European initiative for assessing packaging material recyclability in existing streams (see Plasteurope.com of 01.07.2019). In 2021, Ferrero plans to substitute a paper-based version of the plastic spoon that comes with its “Kinder Joy” chocolate eggs. This could save around 1,500 t of plastics per year, the company said.

Ineos Styrolution noted that it is already working with a number of companies and initiatives to explore concepts for chemical recycling of packaging. It recently joined the Flemish “Remove2Reclaim” project that seeks to reclaim plastics and additives through the dissolution process (see Plasteurope.com of 23.10.2020). In September, the company agreed to cooperate with US polystyrene supplier Trinseo (Berwyn, Pennsylvania; www.trinseo.com) and AmSty, Trinseo’s joint venture with Chevron Phillips Chemical (The Woodlands, Texas / USA; www.cpchem.com), to test depolymerisation processes in a pilot plant at Ineos Styrolution’s Wingles / France site (see Plasteurope.com of 21.09.2020). The test facility seeks to convert 50,000 t/y of post-consumer PS food packaging waste back into styrene monomer to produce new polymer for food-contact applications.