Eastman announced a partnership with Procter & Gamble that will fast-track the movement towards a circular economy. Eastman will supply P&G with its Renew materials for selected products and packaging. This agreement will support both companies’ goals to reduce the use of new plastic and collaborate on recycling solutions.
“Eliminating waste plastic from our environment is a complex global challenge that requires a comprehensive, collaborative approach across the entire plastics lifecycle. P&G is taking a thoughtful approach to addressing the collection, processing, revitalization, and reuse of materials. That’s why we selected Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies which enable former waste to be transformed into useful products,” explained Lee Ellen Drechsler, Procter & Gamble Senior Vice President of R&D.
Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies are employed to take plastic that would otherwise end up in landfills, and make the Eastman Renew material. This technology expands the types and quantities of plastic that can be recycled, extending the useful life, and keeping it away from landfills.
P&G and Eastman will also participate in initiatives that address the needed infrastructure to escalate plastic recycling rates. The two companies will work to expand the collection of hard-to-recycle plastics and extend recycling streams and options that will be used to create new materials via Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies.
“Eastman is excited to have Procter & Gamble as a partner to put molecular recycling into practice,” said Scott Ballard, Eastman’s Division President of Plastics. “Together, we can create value from waste and show the world what’s possible through innovation. The value created will help drive the critical changes in our recycling infrastructure that are necessary to solve the plastic waste crisis.”
Thanks to its current worldwide availability, Eastman Renew materials allow for companies like P&G to provide circular packaging and product solutions to its consumers. P&G is working to integrate Eastman Renew materials into select product packaging by the end of this year. Eastman is building one of the world’s largest plastic-to-plastic recycling facilities at its Kingsport, Tenn., location, expected to be completed in 2022. The molecular recycling facility will consume over 200 million pounds annually of landfill-bound waste plastic in the making of Eastman Renew materials.
