New recycling facility in Europe will recycle plastic repeatedly

TECHNOLOGY company Loop Industries and environmental services company SUEZ have announced that they will build a recycling facility in Europe using Loop’s technology which can recycle plastic repeatedly without quality degradation.

The facility will be the first in Europe to use the Infinite Loop technology and the partnership will combine Loop’s technology with SUEZ’s resource management experience.

The Infinite Loop technology can repeatedly recycle PET and polyester fibre without degradation of quality. The patented technology can depolymerise waste PET and polyester fibre into its base monomers dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). Dyes and impurities are removed as the depolymerisation technology can isolate the DMT and MEG from other compounds.  The monomers are filtered, purified and polymerised to create food-grade, virgin quality PET resin. The process can be used to recycle waste such as plastic bottles, packaging, textiles, and waste recovered from the ocean that has been degraded.

Daniel Solomita, CEO and Founder of Loop, said: “Europe is leading the charge against petroleum-based plastics: through tougher regulations and taxes, they are setting a global example on transitioning to a more circular economy. The Infinite Loop technology creates the infrastructure countries need to be able to eliminate plastic waste and increase recycling rates. Loop’s expansion is tailored to our customers’ needs allowing them to meet and exceed their ambitious targets for recycled content in their packaging, but also to have the ability to recycle their packaging infinitely, without having to compromise quality.”

The plastics recycling facility will have a production capacity of 63,000–84,000 t/y of PET and will save 180,000 t/y of CO₂ compared to virgin PET production from petrochemicals. The site for the facility will be selected by mid-2021 and the facility is due to be commissioned in 2023.