Recycling: Amcor commissions Greenback recycling system at UK facility; Kemira to collaborate with Hazer on methane pyrolysis technology

Packaging firm Amcor has commissioned Greenback Recycling Technologies’ Enval advanced recycling module at its site in Heanor, Derbyshire, UK, where it will undergo a six-month commissioning and trial phase.

This significant step marks the first time Greenback’s modular chemical recycling technology is hosted by a global packaging leader in Europe. The partnership with Amcor aims to showcase the potential for co-locating modular recycling units within existing industrial infrastructure.

The module’s installation at Heanor will provide important learnings for scaling circularity as it will predominantly convert household post-consumer flexible packaging waste.

The project is being carried out in cooperation with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), with the goal of testing methods for turning post-consumer flexible plastics into materials that can be used for food-grade plastics production.

Greenback’s advanced recycling technology is designed to process post-consumer flexible packaging, including multi-laminate materials, and convert it into high-quality pyrolytic oil, suitable for producing food-grade plastics.

The entire recycling process will be verified using the eco2Veritas traceability platform. This software uses artificial intelligence and Internet of Things devices to capture all process data from the receipt of waste through to the production of pyrolytic oil. The oil carries digital certificate of provenance, which is passed onward in the value chain providing crucial data for mass-balance allocation as the oil is converted into recycled plastics.

Heanor was selected for this deployment due to its existing capabilities in handling and recycling both post-consumer and industrial flexible plastic waste.

The facility currently uses mechanical recycling to convert waste plastic into polymers for use in various flexible packaging products made by Amcor.

With the addition of the Enval module, the facility will be able to process a broader range of post-consumer flexible plastics.

Amcor also recently joined a three-year Danish initiative focused on developing a fully circular recycling system for household food packaging made from plastics.

Led by the Danish Technological Institute and supported under the Circular Recycling Innovation for Sustainable Packaging (CRISP) programme, this effort targets rigid food packaging manufactured from polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

Meanwhile in other news, Finland-based Kemira and Hazer Group Ltd have signed a non-binding MoU to evaluate and explore commercial opportunities for deployment of Hazer’s proprietary methane pyrolysis technology.

Under the MOU Hazer and Kemira will collaborate to evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of deploying Hazer’s technology and/or its products in Kemira’s operations. Kemira will conduct testing of Hazer carbon in water treatment, as well as assessment of the feasibility of integration of Hazer’s technology in industrial applications.

Furthermore, if the initial assessments are positive, the parties have agreed to enter into discussions about commercial collaboration, such as technology licensing and/or product offtake.

“We are delighted to partner with Kemira, a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water intensive industries. This collaboration further confirms Hazer’s position as a leading provider of methane pyrolysis technology, and the interest in Hazer Graphite. We look forward to collaborating with Kemira,” says Hazer’s CEO/MD Glenn Corrie.

“We have identified Hazer’s technology to be very exciting and advanced, and we look forward to working with Hazer to investigate the integration of Hazer’s innovative technology across Kemira’s operations,” says Kemira’s EVP Research & Innovation Sampo Lahtinen.

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