LyondellBasell and EEW Energy from Waste recently signed a letter of intent (LoI) to explore a potential long-term strategic partnership to extract and recycle plastics out of incineration waste streams.

The proposed collaboration would potentially include construction of waste pre-sorting facilities at or near EEW incineration plants to remove plastics from waste streams bound for incineration, and investment in advanced sorting facilities to further sort and refine the plastic that has been removed.

The collaboration supports the new LyondellBasell strategy to invest in advanced sorting infrastructure to produce plastic waste-based feedstocks, grow its Circular and Low Carbon Solutions business, and deliver on its value creation ambitions.

"Collaborations across the value chain are part of our strategy and are increasingly necessary to free up plastic waste from sources that today do not end up in recycling," says Yvonne van der Laan, LyondellBasell Executive Vice President, Circular and Low Carbon Solutions. "The materials from these sorting facilities would not only support our existing mechanical recycling facilities in the Netherlands and a potential advanced recycling unit in Germany, but also allows us to optimize waste streams and drive additional value."

"With this cooperation, we are creating a convincing solution for plastic waste for which recycling is still ruled out today," says Bernard M. Kemper, Chief Executive Officer EEW Energy from Waste. "EEW will first build a sorting facility and sort out plastics to recover them for the raw material cycle."

The intended cooperation represents an advancement in recycling opportunities, using the sites and technical know-how of LyondellBasell and EEW to enable a sustainable circular economy.