Sabic, a global leader in the chemical industry, will highlight its pioneering initiative for the production of certified circular polymers at Europe’s leading plastics exhibition K 2019, running from October 16 to 23 in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Sabic launched its ground breaking project in Q4 of 2018 with the goal of driving a value chain transformation from a linear economy to a circular economy for plastics.

Sabic’s certified circular polymers are being produced using a pyrolysis oil feedstock from the recycling of mixed plastic waste. As part of the intended project, Sabic is now introducing this alternative feedstock into its Chemelot production site at Geleen in The Netherlands.

The resultant certified circular polymers are to be supplied to branding leading customers – Unilever, Tupperware Brands, Vinventions and Walki Group – to use in the development of pioneering, high quality and safe consumer goods or packaging for food, beverage and personal care products.

As a disruptive innovation, the introduction of Sabic’s certified circular polymers aims to transform the value chain, where Sabic, its upstream suppliers and downstream customers work in tandem to upcycle mixed plastic waste back to the original polymer for high quality applications, thereby enabling circular reuse of the planet’s natural resources.

While recycling by mechanical methods makes a contribution towards circularity, the rates at which it can economically recycle plastic packaging waste are limited. Sabic’s certified circular polymer process, however, enables the creation of brand new polymers, offering a real alternative to mechanical methods and closing the recycling ‘loop’. As global brand leaders or frontrunners in their respective areas, Unilever, Tupperware Brands, Vinventions and Walki Group recognise the importance of sustainability and their role in the circular economy. They also recognise the critical roles purity, quality and safety play in consumer products or packaging. Sabic’s chemical recycling process is a drop-in alternative offering similar properties and processing characteristics to traditionally produced materials.

“To enable a genuine shift from a linear economy to a circular one, while meeting the needs of our customers and consumer, the maximum value of the plastics waste stream needs to be retained and reused,” said Bob Maughon, executive VP at Sabic.