Belgian waste management group Indaver and plastics producer Ineos Styrolution have signed an offtake agreement for recycled styrene monomer. Ineos has committed to purchasing monomer produced from post-consumer polystyrene waste at Indaver’s planned depolymerisation plant, the two companies announced in mid-June. The Plastics2Chemicals (P2C) plant, which is slated to go online in 2024, will be located in the port of Antwerp.
“This agreement closes the loop towards a circular economy for polystyrene. It will enable Ineos Styrolution to produce polystyrene from recycled feedstock replacing styrene monomer produced from fossil feedstock,” the companies said in a joint press release.
“The benefits are tremendous,” commented Alexander Glück, President of Ineos Styrolution’s activities in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region. “We recognise plastics waste as a valuable resource that must not end up in landfill or be incinerated. Together with Indaver we reduce waste, we produce polystyrene with identical properties as the virgin material with a lower CO2 footprint and we reduce the use of fossil feedstock.”
The recycled polystyrene meets the specification for food-contact applications, according to the press release. “This significantly expands the possibilities for recycling, including polystyrene waste that could previously only be used for conversion into low-value applications,” the companies said. The agreement closes the loop – “from yoghurt pot to yoghurt pot” – for polystyrene. Indaver says that as “a strong player in the waste industry,” it is well positioned to create and manage the required waste streams for polystyrene....
