Tomra adds recycling expertise to Styrenics Circular Solutions organisation

The Styrenics Circular Solutions industry initiative said Thursday that recycling technology provider Tomra has joined it.

The value chain initiative, whose members include COEXPAN, a plastic packaging manufacturer, and petrochemicals companies ELIX Polymers, INEOS Styrolution, Repsol, Total, Trinseo and Versalis (Eni), aims to increase the "circularity" of styrenic-based polymers.

SCS's secretary general Jens Kathmann welcomed Tomra's expertise in sorting technologies for mixed plastic waste streams to the initiative, saying that "once sourced, polystyrene is highly recyclable for high quality applications, even into food contact standards."

Styrenic-based polymers, such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and polystyrene (PS) are widely used in the automotive and packaging sectors. With current infrastructure and mechanical recycling technology, they are difficult to recycle and this has led some companies to a shift away from these products to more widely recyclable materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

One of the main hurdles to overcome to increase the circularity of styrenic-based polymers is to improve the collection and sorting systems. Jurgen Priesters, senior vice president for circular economy at Tomra, said in the statement that "polystyrene is highly sortable... and easy to purify."

Increasing the recyclability of styrenic-based polymers will "play an important role in meeting Europe's 2025 recycling targets," he added.