Citeo, Total, Recycling Technologies, Mars, and Nestlé join forces to develop chemical recycling of plastics in France
As part of Citeo’s call for projects to promote eco-design and recycling projects for plastic and paper in France, Total, Recycling Technologies, Mars, and Nestlé have joining together to develop an innovative industrial chemical recycling industry in France.
The first-of-its-kind consortium will examine the technical and economic feasibility of recycling complex plastic waste, such as small, flexible, and multi-layered food-grade packaging.
These products are currently considered non-recyclable and are therefore either incinerated or disposed of in landfill.
Jean Hornain, CEO of Citeo, said: “This ambitious project meets Citeo’s goal of finding end-to-end solution for all packaging. New technologies, such as chemical recycling, will take performance to the next level and accelerate the circular economy for post-consumer plastic waste, especially when it is complex.”
“Our initiative will be a key driver to deliver short and medium-term solutions.”
Bernard Pinatel, President for Refining and Chemicals at Total, said: “BY addressing the circular economy challenges of food-grade plastics, chemical recycling is a perfect addition to our existing mechanical recycling activities.”
“The project announced today to develop an industrial sector involving major players in the packaging value chain is an important step in our ambition to produce 30 per cent recycled polymers by 2030.”
Elena Parisi, Sales and Marketing Director at Recycling Technologies, said: “We are delighted to be the technology provider for this project. This cross-sector partnership is a great example of the industry working together to bring about the changes necessary to make plastic sustainable.”
“We must carve out a clear pathway that others in the value chain will follow to boost plastic recycling capacity in France and elsewhere.”
Kate Wylie, Global Vice President for Sustainability at Mars, said: “We are delighted to be joining this cross-value-chain consortium to help identify the right system to recycle flexible plastic packaging.”
“In line with Mars’ Circular Packaging Plan, including the goal for 100 per cent of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025, we plan to reduce unnecessary packaging, redesign for circularity, and invest to close the loop.”
“Identifying and investing in the right waste management systems is a critical part of the solution to address the plastic waste problem. We support this new pyrolysis project France to help identify circular systems for post-consumer plastic packaging and consequently increase the scale of recycling across Europe.”
Mathieu Tuau, Head of Packaging and Sustainability at Nestlé France, said: “We are aiming for 100 per cent of our packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2025. Combining our expertise in a collective project to improve recycling is something we need to do to tackle the global plastic issue.”