TAGS: Sustainability / Natural Solutions Additives for Packaging
Americas Styrenics (AmSty) announces that the company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Encina Development Group, LLC (Encina) that will provide the opportunity to purchase up to 250,000 tons per year of circular feedstocks from Encina's facilities.
In addition, AmSty has signed a formal long-term offtake agreement for the purchase of circular feedstocks from Encina's first U.S. commercial plant in Pennsylvania, anticipated to come into production in early 2025.
Circular Feedstocks Based on ISCC PLUS Mass-balanced System
These circular feedstocks will then be available for purchase as recycled content credits, based on the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) mass-balance system. As each new Encina plant comes online, AmSty plans to enter into additional offtake agreements to purchase circular feedstocks from those facilities.
Encina produces circular materials using a proprietary advanced recycling technology that, unlike traditional mechanical recycling, works at the molecular level. The polymer chains are split apart and converted back into their original chemical building blocks, which can then be reused to make new products. AmSty has committed to a 2030 goal that all polystyrene products designed for food packaging applications will contain at least 30% recycled content.
Related Read: Plastic Recycling Innovation: Materials, Technologies, Applications Update
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This new collaboration is vital to helping AmSty meet that goal and demonstrates our total commitment to a sustainable future across all of our market segments. It is truly a victory for brand owners and converters seeking sustainable packaging and consumer products that are part of a circular economy," said Randy Pogue, PhD, AmSty president and CEO. This will empower companies from across AmSty's portfolio to offer recyclable, sustainable products with the exact same quality and performance that customers have come to expect, noted Tim Barnette, AmSty vice president of polymers and sustainability.
Sustainable Practices Across Product Supply Chain
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We're excited to be working with AmSty, a company that shares our vision of getting to a world where nothing is wasted," said David Roesser, chief executive officer of Encina, which, like AmSty, is based in The Woodlands, Texas. "
Increasingly, customers are demanding sustainable practices across the product supply chain and life cycle. The feedstocks we manufacture reduce waste, offset the need to produce virgin materials and help manufacturers achieve carbon neutral goals as we transition to a circular economy."
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Now is the time for market leaders to join forces with us to commit to introducing circular polystyrene products at scale," said Barnette. "
We have been working diligently toward this moment and are now ready to move forward commercializing PolyRenew® credits in a big way."
Both companies have recently received ISCC PLUS designation. By achieving the voluntary designation, companies and their customers know that the sustainability characteristics that are being claimed, such as percentage of recycled content, have been credibly validated. It allows AmSty and Encina to provide its global customers with certified products to meet their sustainability goals.
Source: AmSty