Technological watch

Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, announced today its collaboration with Greiner Packaging, a leading European manufacturer of plastic packaging in the food and nonfood sectors, to advance the implementation of recycled polystyrene (PS) used in packaging applications. The joint project aims to demonstrate the circularity of PS by utilizing recycled material to develop and test recycled PS packaging.

As a leader in the advancement of circular solutions for PS, Trinseo is highly engaged in several partnerships and initiatives to close the loop on PS recycling, namely:

• Recently announcing a first-of-its-kind PS chemical recycling facility to be built in Europe;
• Planning to offer an average of 30% recycled content to customers for PS packaging in Europe by 2025;
• Serving as a founding member of Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS), a consortium that explores new methods for PS recycling; and
• Partnering with the waste supply chain to help identify new ways to increase the volume and quantity of plastics disposed and recovered through waste separation.

“We are pleased to announce this collaboration with Greiner Packaging and are encouraged by the great momentum it will bring to close the loop with recycled content,” said Nicolas Joly, Global Business Director, Polystyrene and Feedstocks at Trinseo. “By increasing the prevalence of polystyrene recycling it further emphasizes our commitment to be a key contributor to achieving full circularity for PS.”

“At Greiner Packaging, our vision is to design and form sustainable plastic solutions for a more livable future worldwide,” said Gernot Desch, Category Manager Plastics, Greiner Packaging. “We are aware of our responsibility and therefore focus on sustainable actions and solutions for a circular economy at all product groups. With our strategy, we want to show that sustainability and plastics do not conflict with one another.”

Full PS circularity is a game changer, offering a unique potential for closed loop recycling – with two fewer steps than recycling of other polymers. Depolymerization is an innovative technology for PS recycling, which has already proven to bring PS waste back into a monomer – unlocking the intrinsic circularity of PS even further. In turn, PS circularity is particularly advantaged as it diverts waste material away from landfills, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gases and harmful emissions.

In North America, Trinseo’s joint venture, AmSty, recently formed a joint venture with Agilyx, named Regenyx LLC, dedicated to fully recycling post-consumer PS materials back into new PS products. Through Regenyx, AmSty is providing customers with PS recycled from a monomer state, from post-consumer waste, known as PolyUsable™.