Exploring the potential of a partnership
to close the loop for waste plastics
Cooperation with LyondellBasell
EEW has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with LyondellBasell, a leading global chemical company, to address an important and underutilised secondary raw material: plastic waste. Specifically, the LOI includes exploring a potential long-term strategic partnership to extract and recycle plastics from waste streams that are currently impossible to recycle. This collaboration could include the construction of waste pre-sorting facilities at or near EEW plants to remove plastics from waste streams bound for thermal treatment. Investments in advanced sorting facilities to further sort and refine the plastic that has been removed are also a possibility. The envisaged collaboration would utilise the two companies’ sites and technical expertise.
Collaborations across the value chain are part of our strategy and are increasingly necessary to free up plastic waste from sources that today do not end up in recycling.
Closing the loop for plastics
LyondellBasell says the collaboration with EEW supports its strategy of investing in advanced sorting infrastructure to produce plastic waste-based feedstocks. This partnership would further close material loops for plastics which are currently sent for thermal treatment. The plastic waste would be separated out for use in mechanical and advanced recycling processes. By removing these materials from the incineration waste stream, the fossil CO2 emissions associated with combusting the materials are also avoided. The materials from these sorting facilities would not only support existing mechanical recycling facilities in the Netherlands and a potential chemical recycling unit in Germany but would also contribute to optimising waste streams and creating additional value.
