Dow and P&G partner to create polyethylene recycling technology

DOW and Procter & Gamble (P&G) are jointly developing a new process to recover near-virgin quality polyethylene (PE) from hard-to-recycle plastic waste.

To create the novel technology, the companies are combining their intellectual property in the area of dissolution recycling, along with expertise in large-scale manufacturing and materials science.

Dissolution recycling involves using a solvent to separate a targeted polymer from impurities in complex plastic materials. The collaboration is targeting PE, which after separation can be extracted for use in new applications.

Work under the partners’ joint development agreement is focusing on recovering PE from post-household plastic waste, such as rigid, flexible, and multi-layer packaging. Consumer goods company P&G intends to use the recovered material in new packaging, enabling circularity and maximising resource use. 

The partners are aiming to create a process with reduced emissions compared to fossil-based PE production or alternative advanced recycling technologies.

Work under the agreement has already begun and will continue through commercialisation.