Materials science specialist Dow and consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble have agreed to work together on new technology to recycle difficult plastics.
The global giants said they would combine patented systems and understanding to create a dissolution process that could recycle rigid, flexible and multi-layer packaging.
Their shared vision is to create recycled polyethylene with “near-virgin quality” and “low greenhouse gas emissions”.
Proctor & Gamble said it aimed to use this new polymer in its own packaging.
Dave Parrillo, vice president for research and development at Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics and Hydrocarbons, said the firm was “excited” by the partnership.
“Dow is committed to transforming plastic waste into circular solutions that can be made into the high quality resins demanded by our customers while helping to accelerate a circular economy,” he added.
Lee Ellen Drechsler, senior vice president of corporate research and development at Procter & Gamble, said: “Our partnership with Dow helps us advance our objective to scale industry solutions as we help create a circular future where materials are recycled and remade instead of becoming waste.”
Dow has a target to commercialise 3 million metric tonnes of circular and renewable solutions by 2030, while Proctor & Gamble’s vision is for all its consumer packaging to be designed to be recycled or reused by the same date.
