Firms plan chemical recycling of plastics

As concerns about plastic waste mount, more firms are rolling out schemes that employ chemistry to recycle plastics. Finnish energy company Neste is collaborating with the British firm ReNewELP to convert plastic waste into fuels, chemicals, and new plastics. ReNewELP is already building a plant in Wilton, England, that will convert 20,000 metric tons per year of plastic waste into middle distillate fuels. The technology it uses, called Cat-HTR, was developed by the Australian firm Licella in partnership with the University of Sidney. It uses water at supercritical temperatures and pressures to break down the plastics. Neste recently signed a deal with Ikea to develop biobased polypropylene. Separately, Polystyvert has opened a pilot plant in Montreal that uses a solvent to dissolve and purify polystyrene into a form that can be reused. The plant will process up to 600 metric tons per year. In June, the company, which is backed by French oil giant Total, raised $11 million in financing.