A second life for your plastic waste

“Every year, Europeans generate 25 million tonnes of plastic waste, but less than 30% is collected for recycling”, according to the 2018 European Plastics Strategy. This percentage is far from meeting the EU Green Deal Goals. The chemical industry plays a fundamental role in truly closing the loop in the plastics lifecycle. 

Versalis, Eni’s chemical subsidiary, has embarked on a project to recover plastics from municipal waste and turn them into a new line of products. The product range, obtained by mechanically recycling household waste, is made up of the plastics polystyrene and polyethylene. 

The polystyrene plastics are made from recycled polystyrene cups, trays and yogurt pots collected in Italy. The material is already on the market and can be used as insulation panels to save energy in buildings, or as protective packaging for appliances and furniture. More recently, the range of circular products was expanded to include food packaging applications. 

The polyethylene-based plastics contain up to 75% of urban post-consumer plastic from Italy, mainly from recycled packaging. These products can be used for multiple applications, particularly in the agricultural sector for drip irrigation, and in the packaging sector. The materials are also suitable for film applications, such as for sacks for industrial products. 

This new product range is an example of how the chemical industry is driving the circular economy. Reducing waste and giving plastic waste new life by reusing and recycling are fundamental to ensuring a better future for the planet. 

Associated SDGs