Technological watch

PepsiCo signs on to use Loop recycled PET

Loop Industries Inc. continues to gain traction with major partners as the company works to commercialize its PET depolymerization technology.

PepsiCo Inc. now says it will use 100 percent recycled PET created by Loop.

Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo expects to incorporate the recycled plastic into new packaging by early 2020.

Montreal-based Loop said it has technology that "allows no- and low-value plastics to be diverted, recovered and recycled endlessly into new, virgin-quality Loop PET plastics."

"Loop's technology enables PepsiCo to be a leading force in ensuring plastic packaging need never become waste," said. Mehmood Khan, chief scientific officer at PepsiCo, in a news release. "This partnership represents a step-change that will empower PepsiCo in our drive towards creating a circular economy for plastics."

News of PepsiCo's upcoming use of Loop's recycled plastic was revealed as single-use plastics continue to come under assault.

While PET bottle recycling enjoys one of the higher plastic recycling rates in the United States, it's still less than 30 percent.

The agreement between Loop and PepsiCo includes communications "to raise awareness of the importance of recycling sustainability and the circular economy," the companies said in a statement.

"Working with a global food and beverage giant like PepsiCo will further establish the value proposition of the Loop brand and mission — to accelerate the world's shift toward sustainable plastic and away from the traditional, take, make and dispose economy," Loop CEO Daniel Solomita said in a statement.

Loop is promising to greatly expand the range of recycled PET that will be used to create food-grade packaging.

The company's technology allows bottles, cans, carpet, clothing and textiles — including those that contain colors, dyes and additives — to be recycled. This includes ocean plastics that have been subjected to the elements, including sun and salt.

PepsiCo's agreement with Loop comes less than a month after Loop announced a joint venture with Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. to deploy its technology.

The chemical company seeks to commercialize recycled PET using Loop's depolymerization technology. Indorama plans to install the process at one of its existing East Coast plants, the company told Plastics News Europe, a sister publication to Plastics News.

Loop's process creates both dimethyl terephthalate and monoethylene glycol without heat or pressure in a process the company calls "revolutionary." Those monomers are then purified and repolymerized to create Loop brand PET, the company said.

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Publication date: 10/10/2018

Plastics News

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Last update: 2022-01-31