Community Updates

Eastman Renew helps formulators boost plasticizers, environmental messaging

Product line’s recycled content helps remove plastic from waste stream.

By Eastman | Published 9 months ago | About a 1 minute read

Formulators that use Eastman Renew plasticizers can be confident they’re making sustainable choices without sacrificing product performance or customer confidence.

Eastman Renew materials include certified recycled content* from Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies. Our process breaks hard-to-recycle plastic waste down to the molecular level. Those virgin-quality building blocks are used to create new, more sustainable products, including plasticizers.

Giving plastic waste new life is central to Eastman’s mission to accelerate a circular economy. Plastics Europe estimates 83% of plastic in the market isn’t recycled. As a result, plastic waste output is expected to nearly triple by 2060. Most discarded plastic ends up in landfills, incinerators or the environment.

Eastman’s new molecular recycling facility in Kingsport, Tennessee, uses methanolysis to process hard-to-recycle polyester, including items like colored PET bottles, carpet and textiles. This is the world’s largest material-to-material molecular recycling facility.

Demystifying Molecular Recycling: Tackling Common Packaging Sustainability Challenges

As pressure grows for packaging to meet both sustainability and consumer expectations, companies are navigating a maze of material choices, infrastructure limitations and regulatory uncertainty. Join us on Tues, May 13, as Eastman's Saskia Hornivius shares insights drawn from her frequent conversations with brands and value chain partners on how to evaluate recycled content options and how molecular recycling can — and cannot — help companies meet circularity and performance goals.

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Eastman’s $2.25 billion investment in the Kingsport facility and two other planned molecular recycling plants in the United States and France will enable Eastman to recycle more than 500 million pounds of plastic waste annually by 2030. This commitment, combined with the development of plasticizers containing more recycled content, demonstrates Eastman’s dedication to building a circular economy.

Read full story here.