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PureCycle Technologies partners with Milliken, Nestlé for plastics recycling

PureCycle Technologies, announced it has partnered with industrial manufacturer, Milliken & Company, and food and beverage company, Nestlé S.A


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Plastic
 
April 21 2019
 
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PureCycle Technologies, announced it has partnered with industrial manufacturer, Milliken & Company, and food and beverage company, Nestlé S.A., as it moves forward with plans to open its first plant to restore used polypropylene (PP) plastic to 'virgin-like' quality with a revolutionary recycling method. PureCycle’s patented recycling process, developed and licensed by Procter & Gamble (P&G), separates colour, odour and other contaminants from plastic waste feedstock to transform it into virgin-like resin, said the company. Milliken, whose additives will play a critical role in reinvigorating recycled polypropylene, has formed an exclusive supply relationship with PureCycle to help solve the plastics end-of-life challenge.

Nestlé is working with the company to develop new packaging materials that help avoid plastic waste, in line with the company’s commitment to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. “These partners are helping us accelerate as we bring this solution to the market,” said Mike Otworth, CEO of PureCycle Technologies. “This is a validation of our method, and it will help us continue to move even more quickly as we make plastics recycling a reality.” Bringing both consumer market knowledge and technical expertise, Milliken and Nestlé help the company work towards delivering the world’s first virgin-like recycled polypropylene, said Otworth. “The use of Milliken’s additives will help to ensure that PureCycle’s Ultra Pure Recycled Polypropylene (UPRP) is of the highest quality and adds the maximum value to brand owners and consumers,” he continued.

With technology licensed from P&G, PureCycle is in the midst of building the first plant in Lawrence County, Ohio, that will recycle 119 million pounds of polypropylene, producing over 105 million pounds per year starting in 2021. Today, about 20 percent of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is commonly used to make plastic bottles and other consumer goods, is recycled. By contrast, less than 1 percent of polypropylene plastic is currently recycled. PureCycle said it is the first company to solely focus on recycling and reintegrating polypropylene upstream to highly sensitive consumer product applications, which are used in automobile, electronics and so on.