US-based recycler Rumpke Waste & Recycling and speciality materials company Eastman have joined forces to expand the recycling of hard-to-recycle and coloured PET packaging waste.
As part of the initiative, Rumpke will collect and sort PET waste materials that remain unaddressed in the current recycling ecosystem.
Rumpke will then offer this waste stream as feedstock for the molecular recycling process of Eastman, which will convert the waste stream into virgin-quality polyesters.
These polyesters will be reused in a range of packaging applications.
The partnership will improve the circularity of coloured and opaque PET by using Rumpke’s investment in innovation processing and Eastman’s molecular recycling technology.
Coloured and opaque PET is used across many consumer applications, including personal care and cosmetic packaging, detergent and soap packaging, and several dairy and food packaging solutions.