Interzero Plastics Recycling will supply Eastman Chemical Co. with PET household packaging waste for the molecular recycling plant that Eastman plans to build in France.
In a news release, officials said that Interzero "is an innovation leader in plastics recycling with the largest sorting capacity in Europe." The German firm will provide Eastman's plant in Normandy with around 45 million pounds per year of PET waste to be recycled.
Officials added that the Normandy plant will be the world's largest material-to-material molecular recycling plant, with the ability to recycle about 350 million pounds of polyester waste per year. The project is expected to be operational in 2025.
Interzero chief commercial officer Jacco de Haas said that Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman "is a leader in molecular recycling with decades of innovation expertise."
"Joining forces by combining the leading know how of Eastman and Interzero is the next step in closing the loop with our partners and a step closer towards a world without waste," he added.
"The world is facing a plastic waste crisis with far too little plastic waste being recycled, either from lack of collection or because it simply cannot be recycled by traditional methods," he said. "Eastman's innovative process and this agreement bring a solution to this."
Eastman's Normandy plant will process colored and opaque PET waste that officials said can't be recycled mechanically to create clear and transparent recycled PET.
Interzero and Eastman "are committed to reducing plastic waste and creating circularity through collaboration and innovation," said Brad Lich, Eastman executive vice president and chief commercial officer. He added that the supply agreement "marks an important milestone towards Eastman's investment in France."
Plans for Eastman's Normandy plant were announced in January by French President Emmanuel Macron and Eastman Chairman and CEO Mark Costa. Eastman will invest as much as $1 billion in the project.
Eastman currently is building a smaller molecular recycling plant in Kingsport. Officials previously said that $250 million project is set for mechanical completion by the end of 2022, with recycled material available in early 2023.
Eastman employs 14,000 worldwide and posted sales of $10.5 billion in 2021. Plastics-related products made by Eastman include Tritan-brand copolyester.