Trinseo will also collaborate with CEDAP lending technical expertise to support the development of a 100% Polystyrene (PS) made yogurt container. CEDAP is currently participating in a project, which aims to create a mono material yogurt container, including the label, lid and pot. This project is spearheaded by the consortium Citeo including Plastiques Venthenat (PV), Amcor, and Triballat.
“This is an exciting collaboration that Trinseo is lending technical, processing and performance expertise on,” said Nicolas Joly, Global Business Director, Polystyrene and Feedstocks at Trinseo. “The implementation of a recycled PS in food grade packaging is coming closer to reality as we work hand in hand with the packaging industry. Furthermore, the development of a mono material yogurt pot would enable greater ease of recyclability and in turn unlock the opportunity for a new life in other applications via chemical or mechanical recycling of PS,” continued Joly.
Trinseo’s Engagement in PS Recycling
Trinseo is highly engaged in several partnerships and initiatives to close the loop on PS recycling, namely:
- Recently announcing a first-of-its-kind polystyrene chemical recycling facility to be built in Europe.
- Trinseo plans to offer an average of 30% recycled content to customers for polystyrene packaging in Europe by 2025.
- Trinseo is a founding member of Styrenics Circular Solutions (SCS), a consortium that explores new methods for polystyrene recycling
- Trinseo is partnering with the waste supply chain to help identify new ways to increase the volume and quantity of plastics disposed and recovered through waste separation.
Full polystyrene circularity is a game changer, offering a unique potential for closed loop recycling – with two fewer steps than recycling of other polymers. Depolymerization is an innovative technology for PS recycling, which has already proven to bring polystyrene waste back into a monomer - unlocking the intrinsic circularity of polystyrene even further. In turn, PS circularity is particularly advantaged as it diverts waste material away from landfill, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gases and harmful emissions.
In North America, Trinseo’s joint venture, AmSty (US), recently formed a joint venture with Agilyx, named Regenyx LLC, dedicated to fully recycling post-consumer polystyrene materials back into new polystyrene products. Through Regenyx, AmSty is providing customers with polystyrene recycled from a monomer state, from post-consumer waste, known as PolyUsable™.
