Consumer brands giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) and specialty materials provider Eastman announced a new agreement aimed at helping eliminate plastic waste, reducing reliance on virgin plastic, and promoting a circular economy. Under the new agreement, P&G will use Eastman’s recycled plastic Renew materials in certain products and packaging, and the companies will collaborate on advocacy and initiatives addressing the infrastructure needed to increase plastic recycling rates.

Lee Ellen Drechsler, Procter & Gamble Senior Vice President of R&D, said:

“Eliminating waste plastic from our environment is a complex global challenge that requires a comprehensive, collaborative approach across the entire plastics lifecycle. P&G is taking a thoughtful approach to addressing the collection, processing, revitalization, and reuse of materials. That’s why we selected Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies which enable former waste to be transformed into useful products.” 

Eastman’s Renew materials are made utilizing the company’s molecularly recycled technologies. The process breaks down waste into its molecular building blocks for re-use, creating resins that are chemically indistinguishable from their legacy counterparts, while diverting waste plastic from landfills and reducing greenhouse gas emissions relative to traditional production.

According to the new agreement, the companies will work to expand the collection of hard-to-recycle plastics, generating expanded recycling streams to create new materials using Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies.

Scott Ballard, Eastman’s Division President of Plastics, said:

“Eastman is excited to have Procter & Gamble as a partner to put molecular recycling into practice. Together, we can create value from waste and show the world what’s possible through innovation. The value created will help drive the critical changes in our recycling infrastructure that are necessary to solve the plastic waste crisis.”

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