ReVital Polymers, Pyrowave and INEOS Styrolution Partner to Launch Closed-Loop North American Polystyrene Recycling Consortium

At the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Working Together on Climate Change, Oceans and Clean Energy, three industry leaders involved with post-consumer packaging recovery – ReVital Polymers, Pyrowave and INEOS Styrolution – announced a strategic partnership to recycle polystyrene packaging collected in consumer curbside and depot recycling systems as well as other sources such as restaurants, offices, schools and universities.

The collaboration will use advanced recycling technology pioneered by Pyrowave that will recycle single-serve polystyrene packaging and utilize recycled polystyrene in the manufacturing of new products and packaging.

ReVital Polymers Inc., located in Sarnia, Ontario, is a member of the Circular Polymers Group, and a North American leader in processing post-consumer plastics. ReVital will install Pyrowave’s Catalytic Microwave Depolymerization (CMD) technology as part of its plastics recycling process. Pyrowave’s award-winning microwave machine will convert ReVital’s sorted post-consumer polystyrene packaging to a liquid that contains plastic building blocks, called monomers, which will then be used by INEOS Styrolution.

INEOS Styrolution is a global leader in styrenics that manufactures and supplies polystyrene for various food service packaging applications and consumer goods products. INEOS Styrolution will process the material from ReVital and Pyrowave in a final step to return it to virgin resin that can be made into any new polystyrene application.

Pyrowave’s technology, the connecting link between the ReVital and INEOS Styrolution, provides a process that makes polystyrene infinitely recyclable even with colour additives and food residue.