U.S.-based plastic and synthetic rubber manufacturer Trinseo has taken a further step on the path towards achieving its aim of becoming a specialty materials and sustainable solutions provider. The company yesterday announced it has agreed to purchase Dutch plastic waste collection and recycling company Heathland BV.
A well-known and established European plastic waste collector and recycler based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, Heathland’s main focus is on thermoplastics, including post-consumer and post-industrial polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polystyrene (PS) and more.
The company collects, pre-treats and processes plastic waste materials using both mechanical and chemical recycling processes, and has also taken part in European projects such as MMATwo, which developed depolymerization technology for PMMA, in which MMA unzips selectively from the polymer chain; and the Revolution project, aimed at overcoming the challenges hindering and restricting the widespread adoption of circular economy principles in the automotive industry. Heathland produces recycled raw material both to customer specification and as a commodity in accordance with industry standards.
Trinseo said the acquisition was motivated by the need to secure access both to comprehensive recycling technologies and plastic wastes which can be used as feedstock. A reliable source of recycled feedstock will help the company meet the rising market demand for plastic materials with recycled content.
“The agreement is an extension of our commitment to investing in the movement toward a circular economy,” said Francesca Reverberi, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Trinseo.
Heathland co-founders and managing directors Nikolaj Garnitsch and Simon van der Heijden pointed to the goal shared by both companies, namely to recycle in ways that bring most value out of waste feedstock, avoiding downcycling, and producing circular raw materials of the highest grade - ‘thereby facilitating the use of recycled raw material as a seamless alternative to virgin plastics’, they added.
The investment in Heathland is aligned with Trinseo’s 2030 Sustainability Goals, said the company. These are targeted at tackling climate change, embedding sustainability in the company’s product portfolio, promoting supplier and operational stewardship, and embodying responsibility as an employer.