Investing in Plastic Recycling Innovations

Plastic Makers Pledge Millions to Increase Recycled Plastic.

Plastic recycling just got another boost.

Three of America’s Plastic Makers® are making a significant investment in the newly-minted Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund, created to “increase the amount of recycled plastic available to meet the growing demand for high-quality, recycled content in products and packaging.”

Dow, LyondellBasell and NOVA Chemicals together will contribute an initial $25 million to this new catalytic fund managed by Closed Loop Partners. The Fund will invest in “scalable recycling technologies, equipment upgrades and infrastructure solutions” to improve and increase plastic recycling. The Fund aims to attract up to $100 million from businesses across the plastic value chain.

This new investment represents another step forward on America’s Plastic Makers’ Roadmap to Reuse, a set of actions to help reach our goal: 100% of U.S. plastic packaging is re-used, recycled or recovered by 2040.

Innovations to Help Meet Demand for Recycled Plastics

Today, demand for recycled plastic far exceeds supply – the current supply meets only 6% of demand, according to Closed Loop Partners. To increase supply, the Circular Plastics Fund will focus on three strategic areas:

  • Access – Expanding and updating the infrastructure to collect more plastic.
  • Optimization – Upgrading systems that sort used plastic for recycling to increase amounts of high-quality recycled plastic.
  • Manufacturing – Investing in facilities and equipment that manufacture products/packaging using recycled plastic.

These investments can help overcome some of the current inefficiencies that limit plastics recycling. The Fund will help recyclers meet demand for recycled plastics from many of the world’s largest brands, retailers and others that is estimated at more than $120 billion in the United States and Canada alone.

This recently announced fund will help America’s Plastic Makers® foster innovation that leads to recycling breakthroughs. Together with our industry-wide commitments to reducing plastic waste, this initiative will provide the funding and creative spark necessary to cultivate new ideas that, over time, can be improved and deployed at scale.
-Craig Cookson
Senior Director of Plastics Sustainability, American Chemistry Council

Meeting recycling and sustainability goals will require changes to the existing plastic recycling infrastructure and technologies. Initiatives like the Circular Plastics Fund will help drive those changes, building on the billions of dollars that have been invested in plastic recycling over the last few years.

Continue to visit America’s Plastic Makers: Making Sustainable ChangeSM to learn more about the steps companies are taking to help end plastic waste, build a circular economy for plastics and create a more sustainable future.