- advertising -
Generic selectors
Exact match only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by category
News
Experts' opinions
Sponsored content
Formulation
Ingredients
Media kit
The magazine
Software
Management
Make-up
We tested for you
Packaging
Fragrances
Industrial processes
Regulations
CSR

Eastman plans to invest in a plastics recycling plant in France

On January 19, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Costa, Eastman's Chairman and CEO, announced Eastman's intention to invest up to $1 billion in a plant for the molecular recycling of polyesters from household packaging and textile waste. This facility will use Eastman's polyester renewal technology to recycle up to 160,000 tonnes a year of hard-to-recycle plastic waste that is currently incinerated.

This investment would make it possible to recycle enough plastic waste each year - materials that are generally incinerated because they cannot be recycled mechanically or have to be downgraded using existing technology - to fill the Stade de France 2.5 times over.

According to Eastman, polyester renewal technology makes it possible to exploit the potentially infinite value of materials by keeping them in production, life cycle after life cycle. Thanks to the yields inherent in the technology and the renewable energy sources available in France, materials can be produced with greenhouse gas emissions up to 80 % lower than with traditional methods.

This year, Eastman is the biggest investor in the "Choose France" event, which aims to attract foreign investment to France.

This multi-phase project includes units that would prepare mixed plastic waste for processing, a methanolysis unit to depolymerize the waste, and polymer lines to create a variety of premium materials for specialty, packaging and textile applications. Eastman, a global producer of specialty materials, also plans to create an innovation center for molecular recycling that would enable France to maintain a leading role in the circular economy. This innovation center would advance alternative recycling methods and applications to limit the incineration of plastic waste and leave fossil raw materials in the ground. The plant and innovation center should be operational by 2025, creating 350 jobs and generating a further 1,500 indirect jobs in recycling, energy and infrastructure.

Eastman's project has also received the support of global brands who share his commitment to solving the problem of plastic waste and see molecular recycling as an essential tool for achieving a circular economy. LVMH Beauty, The Estée Lauder Companies, Clarins, Procter & Gamble, L'Oréal and Danone have led the way by signing letters of intent for multi-year supply agreements from the facility. 

"France (...) is giving itself the means to achieve its ambitious plastics recycling targets set for 2025. We are very excited to welcome a company with a 100-year history of global innovation and over 30 years' experience in molecular recycling".said Barbara Pompili, French Minister for Ecological Transition.

"Eastman's world-scale project will position France as a European leader in new technologies for recycling and recovering plastic waste. This investment is the result of the ambitious approach to industrial reconquest led by the government since 2017, which has enabled France to become Europe's most attractive country for industrial projects as of 2018added Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Industry. With this project, which represents an important step for our sovereignty, we are giving ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions in terms of ecological transition while creating sustainable jobs in the manufacturing, infrastructure and energy sectors. We look forward to developing this relationship with Eastman."

"The project to build the world's largest plastics recycling facility in France is an important part of our overall circular economy strategy."said Mark Costa.

External resources
eastman.com

Sponsored content

Modernizing your lab can improve employee retention

Modernizing your lab could be the answer to improve training, improve retention, and relieve the supply chain bottleneck.

Technature's new machine: hydrogel in a jar

Technature, Europe's leading manufacturer of natural hydrogels, expands its range with the introduction of a new specialized machine for potted hydrogels.

Related articles

Our last issue

Listen to us!

Newsletter

en_USEnglish