LyondellBasell buys PreZero US recycling assets in California

LyondellBasell has acquired California mechanical recycling assets from PreZero, a global recycler and waste management services provider, according to a company statement Feb. 20.

LyondellBasell plans to start operations at its new facility in 2025, the statement said.

The deal includes leasing the processing facility in Jurupa Valley, California, which has a production capacity of approximately 50 million lb/year for recycled materials, according to the statement.

A spokesperson for LyondellBasell declined to provide more information on the arrangement, saying, "more details will be available in due course."

LyondellBasell will use the California mechanical recycling plant to manufacture post-consumer recycled polyethylene and polypropylene resins using plastic waste feedstock. The recycled polymers will be marketed under the CirculenRecover brand.

PreZero closed its plastics recycling facility in the US state of South Carolina in November 2022. At the time, the company said it would focus on expanding its California capacity.

PreZero was a significant buyer of post-consumer mixed rigid and low-density PE film bales, sources have said.

In 2022, prices for post-consumer LDPE A-grade film bales tumbled from 28 cents/lb FOB Chicago on Aug. 1, when Platts first assessed them, to 15 cents/lb on Jan. 4, 2023 – a decrease of 46%. At the time, sources said reasons for the dramatic decrease included reduced demand after the plant closure.

In October 2023, LyondellBasell announced it had bought a 25% equity stake in advanced recycler Cyclyx.

LyondellBasell said in mid-May 2023 that it would acquire the joint venture stake in Quality Circular Polymers from its joint venture partner Suez Veolia. QCP, a plastics recycling arm for Suez pre-merger, has locations in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In March 2023, LyondellBasell announced plans to buy Mepol Group, which produces recycled hard plastic pellets through subsidiaries in Italy and Poland.

The CirculenRecover brand includes products containing up to 100 percent Post-Consumer Resin (PCR) that are designed to meet the performance requirements of many common applications, and uses mechanically-recycled plastic waste.

The company's CirculenRevive line uses an advanced recycling process to break plastic waste into its molecular building blocks to produce new polymers.

The CirculenRenew line is sourced from renewable feedstocks including used cooking oil.