TRUCIRCLE project reclaims ocean-bound plastic

SABIC has leveraged its partnership with Portugal-based flexible film products manufacturer Polivouga to create an innovative TRUCIRCLE project designed to reuse post-consumer plastic waste that could end up in rivers and oceans.

The collaboration with the Nueva Pescanova Group, a leading Spanish brand owner specialising in the fishing, farming, processing and marketing of fresh, chilled and frozen seafood products, has resulted in the development of the world’s first frozen food packaging solution using SABIC’s certified circular polyethylene from feedstock sourced from ocean bound plastic. The new sustainable packaging will be launched to coincide with World Oceans Day 2022 on Wednesday 8 June.

The ocean bound plastic is converted using advanced recycling into an alternative feedstock which SABIC uses to produce certified circular polymers – SABIC LLDPE and LDPE for further processing to flexible packaging film by Polivouga. Then, Nueva Pescanova packages its frozen seafood in bags made from this film.

The collaboration is SABIC’s first TRUCIRCLE project using recycled ocean bound plastic in certified circular polyethylene.

Sami Al-Osaimi, Vice President PE & Sales at SABIC, said: “This is an exciting circular packaging solution for us, since it demonstrates how used plastic that has the potential to end up in our oceans, can be brought back into a circular material stream to be converted into high-quality food packaging. It also underlines SABIC’s commitment to the United Nations’ Strategic Development Goal #14 for ‘Life Below Water’. The results once again demonstrate the art of the possible when dedicated value chain partners collaborate with the aim of making a difference.”

Ignacio González, CEO of the Nueva Pescanova Group, added: “As a seafood company, it is our great responsibility to care for the seas and oceans, the ecosystems on which our activity depends and which we must all take care of together. With this initiative, we will prevent this plastic waste from reaching the marine environment, giving them a new life. We have set ourselves the goal of making 100 per cent of our packaging recyclable by 2025 and, through this action, we will be one step closer to achieving this.”

The ocean bound plastic based solution is fully certified under the Zero Plastic Oceans programme and the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS chain of custody. This means that the material flow is controlled and tracked from the ocean bound plastic to the final packaging following a set of predefined and transparent rules.

Tiago Barros, CEO at Polivouga, added: “The project reaffirms the determined journey we have embarked on with SABIC to drive circularity in our industry and takes it one step further, enabling us to provide our customers with premium flexible film products now also based on mixed plastic waste that could otherwise pollute our seas and waterways.”

SABIC’s certified circular polymers form part of the company’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio and services for circular solutions. The offering also includes design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified renewable polymers from bio-based feedstock and closed loop initiatives to recycle plastic back into high quality applications and help prevent valuable used plastics from becoming waste.