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Located in Europe, the site will be the largest PET recycling facility in the world, with the potential to produce the equivalent of approximately 4.2 billion food-grade beverage bottles from 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable PET annually.

Clare Goldsberry

September 11, 2020

2 Min Read
plastic bottles on assembly line
Image: 279photo/Adobe Stock

Montreal-based recycling technology innovator Loop Industries and Suez, an environmental services company in Paris, announced plans to build the first “Infinite Loop” recycling facility in Europe. Based on enhanced recycling, the partnership will combine the resource-management expertise of Suez and Loop’s breakthrough technology for the production of virgin-quality, food-grade, 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable plastic. The new facility will offer a sustainable solution for global consumer goods companies, said Loop and Suez.

Loop’s patented low-energy technology enables waste plastic to be recycled an infinite number of times, with no degradation in quality. The Infinite Loop facility will respond to huge growth in demand in Europe from global beverage and consumer goods brand companies, committed to aggressive targets for a high level of recycled content in their products, said Loop. The recycling facility dedicated to PET plastic will be the largest in the world, with the potential to produce the equivalent of approximately 4.2 billion food-grade beverage bottles made of 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable PET plastic annually, according to the company’s information.

By leveraging Loop’s innovative technology, the facility will be able to claim savings of 180,000 tons of CO2 annually, compared with virgin PET production from a traditional petrochemical process. Loop claims that these savings are equivalent to approximately 418,000 barrels of oil.

“Suez has been involved for more than 10 years in mechanical plastic recycling, while investing constantly in research and innovation,” said Jean-Marc Boursier, COO, Suez Group. “In 2019, we processed 450,000 tons of plastics across Europe and produced 150,000 tons of recycled plastics. Highly convinced by the complementarity between mechanical and chemical recycling solutions, we are thrilled to be part of this innovative project with Loop Industries, as it will expand our offer and our solutions improving the economic and environmental performance of our industrial customers, but also contributing to sustainable resource management.”

“Expansion of our technology across Europe has always been of high strategic importance for Loop and our customers,” said Loop founder and CEO Daniel Solomita. “We are beyond excited to be working with the excellent team at Suez, who bring a complementary skill set to Loop’s team with their deep knowledge in resource management. Europe is leading the charge against petroleum-based plastics; through tougher regulations and taxes, they are setting a global example on transitioning to a more circular economy. The Infinite Loop technology creates the infrastructure countries need to be able to eliminate plastic waste and increase recycling rates.”

Final site selection for the Infinite Loop recycling facility is targeted for completion by mid-2021 and commissioning of the facility is currently projected in 2023.

About the Author(s)

Clare Goldsberry

Until she retired in September 2021, Clare Goldsberry reported on the plastics industry for more than 30 years. In addition to the 10,000+ articles she has written, by her own estimation, she is the author of several books, including The Business of Injection Molding: How to succeed as a custom molder and Purchasing Injection Molds: A buyers guide. Goldsberry is a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association. She reflected on her long career in "Time to Say Good-Bye."

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