Sabic has announced together with its customers Unilever, Vinventions and Walki Group, the launch of certified circular polymers to be manufactured by SABIC and planned to be used by its customers for packaging solutions for a variety of consumer products that will be introduced into the market in 2019.
The certified circular polymers will be produced from a feedstock known as Tacoil - a patented product from UK-based Plastic Energy Ltd - from the recycling of low quality, mixed plastic waste otherwise destined for incineration or landfill. Sabic will process this feedstock on its production site at Geleen in The Netherlands. The finished certified circular polymers will then be supplied to the three key customers to use in their development of pioneering, high quality and safe consumer packaging for food, beverage, personal and home care products. The market foundation stage is an important step of a project recently announced by SABIC and Plastic Energy to build first commercial plants in the Netherlands to manufacture and process the feedstock.
The announcement of the launch of Sabic’s certified circular polymers has taken place at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where leaders from all four companies gathered at the iconic, energy-efficient, quick to construct and reusable ICEhouse building constructed using Sabic materials. The ICEhouse, with ICE standing for “Innovation for the Circular Economy”, will host a number of key events from 22 to 25 January and is a fitting venue for the presentation of this initiative that underlines a key strategic sustainability priority for Sabic.
As a disruptive innovation, the introduction of the certified circular polymers in 2019 will create a new value chain, where Sabic, its upstream supplier and key downstream customers work side-by-side to upcycle mixed plastic waste back to the original polymer for packaging applications.
As global brand leaders or frontrunners in their respective areas, Unilever, Vinventions and Walki recognise the importance of sustainability and their role in the circular economy. They also recognise the critical role purity, quality and safety play in consumer product packaging, requirements that are met by Sabic’s certified circular polymers as a drop-in alternative to traditionally produced materials.
Sabic’s strategic customers cover a wide spectrum of consumer packaging needs from Unilever’s packaging for food, personal and home care products; synthetic wine closures for consistent preservation at Vinventions; and Walki Group’s protective packaging materials for consumer products. The common unifier among these companies is the need to deliver the highest quality packaging solutions with consumer safety being paramount and to meet the environmental and sustainability goals demanded by today’s society.
“Sustainability and re-use have been part of Sabic’s mission since its inception” said Yousef Al-Benyan, Vice Chairman and CEO, Sabic. “Today, more than ever, sustainability is a core value which drives our advanced scientific and technological expertise and our pioneering spirit. Along with our eminent customers, we are proud to launch our certified circular polymers which is further testament to our leadership in advancing the circular economy.”
