Borealis secures Renasci’s entire supply of chemically recycled polyolefins for healthcare and food packaging

22 Jun 2021 --- Borealis has secured exclusive supply of Renasci Oostende Recycling’s chemically recycled material from its high-tech recycling center in Belgium. 

The feedstock supply has enabled Borealis to offer commercial volumes of chemically recycled base chemicals and polyolefins since May 2021.

The material is used to manufacture EverMinds Borcycle C circular polyolefins and circular base chemicals at multiple Borealis locations.

The Borcycle C portfolio uses chemical recycling to give polyolefin-based, post-consumer waste a new life.

With a projected 20kT output annually, Borealis indicates this agreement will enable it to become one of the leading global suppliers of chemically recycled base chemicals and polyolefins.

The portfolio of products enables the transformation of plastic waste into circular high-performance products and applications.

Rabobank estimates global advanced recycling infrastructure will double by 2025 as regulatory and public demand for recycled plastics packaging drives “huge” investment.

The Dutch multinational bank sees advanced or chemical recycling as a “promising solution to drastically increase recycling rates of plastic packaging waste” in light of mechanical recycling’s limitations.Renasci’s chemically recycled feedstock will be used by Borealis to manufacture Borcycle C circular polyolefins and circular base chemicals.

High-end applications
As a complement to mechanical recycling, chemical recycling has an important role in closing the material loop on plastics circularity, recycling low-quality plastic waste streams into high-quality material.

Products manufactured with chemically recycled feedstock offer the same performance levels as products produced with fossil-based feedstock.

High-performance levels enable the production of high-end polyolefin-based applications, including healthcare and food packaging materials, subject to stringent quality and safety regulations that cannot always be met using mechanically recycled materials.

The waste feedstock processed at Renasci’s ISCC PLUS-certified recycling center is derived from mainly dried household waste and some industrial waste.

The recycling process
In the first step, the waste is sorted multiple times to extract the best value plastic material for mechanical recycling.

The waste feedstock which cannot be mechanically recycled is instead chemically recycled. This chemically recycled feedstock will be subsequently processed in the Borealis steam crackers, initially at its production location in Porvoo, Finland.The waste feedstock processed at Renasci’s recycling center is derived from dried household waste and industrial waste.

The Borealis Porvoo location is the global standard for certified recycled and bio-based materials, the company says, enabling mass balance production of renewable and chemically recycled products.

“Our agreement with Renasci is a welcome complement to the OMV ReOil chemical recycling project,” explains Martijn van Koten, Borealis’ EVP for base chemicals and operations.

“We notice a strong increase in demand for chemically recycled products. Borealis and OMV aim to increase the supply of these more circular base chemicals and polyolefins to help our customers deliver on their sustainability targets.”

“In the true spirit of EverMinds, we accelerate action toward plastics circularity through collaboration,” adds Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis’ EVP for polyolefins, innovation and technology and circular economy solutions.

“The cooperation with Renasci allows us to offer our customers and partners virgin-like polyolefins from chemically recycled post-consumer waste in material quantities effective this quarter.”

“This agreement with Borealis will enable us to completely and truly close the circular loop on plastics,” says Kristof Beuren, Renasci’s COO. “The challenge was to find an enclosing solution for this type of waste, and together we achieved it.”

Edited by Joshua Poole