AmSty, the largest polystyrene producer in the Americas, and Agilyx Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilyx AS, a pioneer in the advanced recycling of post-use plastics, announced an agreement to explore the development of a jointly owned advanced recycling facility.

The initial scope of this project will be a 50 to 100 ton per day advanced recycling facility located at AmSty’s Styrene production facility in St. James, Louisiana. The facility will be a next generation expansion of Agilyx advanced recycling technology already in use at the parties’ Regenyx joint venture operating in Tigard, Oregon, where post-use polystyrene products are converted back into virgin-equivalent styrene monomers.

A feasibility study for the project is under way, with a timeline for construction and commissioning to be announced as progress continues.

"Polystyrene is an ideal material for the future of recycling,” said Dr. Randy Pogue, President, and CEO of AmSty. "Not only can polystyrene products offer sustainability advantages where less material is required (e.g., a polystyrene foam cup is 95% air), but polystyrene is particularly advantageous for advanced recycling because it can be "unzipped" back to its original liquid form, styrene monomer, using 40% less energy than other polymers."

"AmSty is committed to keeping polystyrene products out of landfills through circular recycling. We are excited to expand our relationship with Agilyx in this new project to accelerate progress,” added Pogue. 

“Development of this technology has picked up over the past decade, and it is time to reach a larger scale,” said

Tim Stedman, Chief Executive Officer, Agilyx said, “We have been operating Regenyx with AmSty since 2019 and are pleased to expand our relationship toward a much larger facility at St. James. Joining AmSty as a co-investor underlines our commitment to accelerating the implementation of Agilyx advanced recycling technology and our licensing model. We believe that our technology will significantly increase the availability of recycled content for producers.”