Honeywell recently reported that it will form a joint venture with Avangard Innovative to build an advanced recycling plant in Texas.
The facility will use Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology to transform end-of-life plastic waste into recycled polymer feedstock that can be used to create new plastics. Honeywell’s new UpCycle Process Technology reduces the need for fossil feeds in the creation of virgin plastics, with the goal of enabling a circular economy for plastics, the company says in a news release.
Avangard Innovative will be the first to deploy the UpCycle Process Technology in the United States. Honeywell and Avangard intend to co-own and operate a facility within Avangard’s NaturaPCR complex in Waller, Texas. The planned advanced recycling plant is expected to have the capacity to transform 30,000 metric tons of mixed waste plastics into Honeywell Recycled Polymer Feedstock per year.
Production is expected to start in 2023.
“Partnering with companies that have recycling and waste management experience allows Honeywell to help close the loop within the plastics supply chain by bringing the recycling technology onsite to the collection source,” said Vimal Kapur, president and chief executive officer of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies. “The UpCycle Process Technology expands the types of plastics that can be recycled to include waste plastic that would otherwise go unrecycled, enabling Honeywell to play a key role in driving a circular plastics economy.”
When used in conjunction with other chemical and mechanical recycling processes, along with improvements to collection and sorting, Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology has the potential to increase the amount of plastic waste that can be recycled to 90% from only 15% today, the company says, citing a report from AMI International—The Global Mechanical Recycling Industry 2020.
“Working with Honeywell on a joint advanced recycling plant allows Avangard Innovative to reinforce its mission to preserve and protect the environment by targeting zero waste to landfill,” said Rick Perez, CEO, Avangard Innovative. “The Honeywell solution employs a modular approach to plant design, enabling a straightforward deployment and installation, while striking the right balance between economy of scale and amount of waste plastic generated locally.”
Honeywell also recently announced its intent to form a joint venture with Sacyr in Spain. That joint venture would build an advanced recycling plant in Andalucía, in Southern Spain. That facility is expected to have the capacity to transform 30,000 metric tons per year of mixed waste plastics into Honeywell Recycled Polymer Feedstock.