Eastman Chemical Co. is "exploring several options" as the company considers building another chemical recycling plant for plastics in the United States.
The Kingsport, Tenn.-based based company has approached school district officials Texas City, Texas, regarding the potential of tax breaks to help in the construction of a facility.
But in a statement provided to Plastics News June 28, Eastman said the firm also is considering the possibility of constructing a chemical recycling plant elsewhere.
"Eastman is evaluating future growth options for its production of polymers and intermediates from recycled plastic waste worldwide, which may include an investment at one of its global manufacturing locations," the statement reads.
"We are in the process of exploring several options for this potential project and working through due diligence to gain the most attractive incentives for a large capital investment," the company said.
"This filing does not commit us to the Texas City site. The team is still going through a robust site selection process and there could be multiple filings of this type in several states as we look for the most attractive locations for this investment."
Eastman, in paperwork filed with the Texas City Independent School District indicated the company is considering an $850 million project that would be on the grounds of its existing plant in Texas City, Plastics News previously reported.
The company already is constructing a recycling facility in Kingsport that will use methanolysis to recycle plastics. Eastman announced earlier this year plans for a similar facility in France.
Chemical recycling is also called advanced recycling or molecular recycling because the process breaks down plastics to their molecular level to then create products that can then be used to create new virgin-like plastics.