In June 2023, Ineos announced it had partnered with collection and sorting specialist Tomra and recycler EGN Entsorgungsgesellschaft Niederrhein on a new project that would see the construction of a greenfield advanced mechanical recycling facility able to process 40,000 metric tons of post-consumer polystyrene waste per year in Krefeld, Germany.
The plant would use Ineos’ proprietary, super-cleaning purification process, a technology that produces recycled PS able to comply with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) requirements for food contact applications.
The project would have required a 60 million euro investment and was planned for start up mid-2025.
Recently, however, Ineos announced it was withdrawing from the project.
An official from the company said the reason was a financial one.
“For a project on this scale to succeed, everyone must be on the same page. We have found that our customers are not,” he explained. “We were unable to obtain binding acceptance commitments from food manufacturing customers. As a result, our financial exposure at this point is simply too high.”
EGN said it regrets the decision, but is intent on to continuing the project. It plans to look for new partners and examine all available options.
Meanwhile, Ineos is not abandoning the technology, the official stressed. “We still believe in it and still believe it is the right thing to do.”
Ineos will continue to monitor the situation, especially around the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, and look for the right opportunity for a new project on a different scale.
Earlier in 2024, a similar high-profile chemical recycling project for PS, Regenyx LLC — a joint venture of Americas Styrenics and Agilyx LLC — announced it was closing its plant in Tigard, Ore., after losing more than $4.5 million.