Green news: Emirates Biotech to build UAE’s first PLA plant; Renewi/Freepoint Eco-Systems to build recycling feedstock plant in Belgium

SS Royal Kit Emirates Investment and Global Biopolymers Industries have joined forces to establish a new venture to transform the PLA bioplastics industry. The company, Emirates Biotech, will spearhead the production and marketing of PLA biopolymers across the Middle East, Africa, and India, offering a sustainable and circular solution to replace traditional fossil fuel-based plastics.

Emirates Biotech will start commercial operations in early 2025 and intends to start construction of its first PLA production plant in the UAE before 2026.

Shaikh Suhail Ali Saeed Rashed Al-Maktoum and Dr. Shadi Jabari, on behalf of SS Royal Kit Emirates Investment, and Theodorus Everwijn, on behalf of Global Biopolymers Industries, signed the partnership agreement. Emirates Biotech, formerly known as Gulf Biopolymers Industries, will have its headquarters in Dubai and is planning to build a PLA production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Shaikh Suhail Ali Saeed Rashed Al-Maktoum says, “Our participation in Emirates Biotech underscores our unwavering commitment to fostering sustainability in the UAE and beyond. By investing in PLA bioplastics, we are taking a proactive step towards building a more eco-conscious society for generations to come, aligning with the UAE's vision outlined in the Green Agenda 2030.”

“PLA biopolymers are one of the key innovations to lower society’s carbon footprint and combat global plastic pollution,” says Theodorus Everwijn “By joining forces with SS Royal Kit Emirates Investment we will be able to accelerate this transition and reinforce the position of the UAE as a leading country towards a more sustainable society.”

Marc Verbruggen has been appointed CEO of Emirates Biotech. He has over 10 years’ experience in the PLA bioplastics industry, with expertise in turning start-ups into global providers of bio-based polymer solutions. He says, “The transition to bioplastics is not just a choice. If one wants to reduce the plastic impact on landfills and oceans, it’s a necessity.”

In other news, waste recycler Renewi and Freepoint Eco-Systems International Ltd, an affiliate of Freepoint Commodities, have announced a collaboration to produce feedstock for the advanced recycling of waste plastics. The goal is to supply 80,000 tonnes of feedstock for Freepoint Eco-Systems’ first European advanced recycling facility to be located at the Kluizendok site in Ghent, Belgium. By joining forces, these two industry leaders in waste management and recycling are addressing both the growing demand for sustainable solutions for end-of-life plastics and the use of pyrolysis oil to create recycled products.

Renewi has a recycling rate of 63.2%, one of the highest in Europe, putting 6.6 million tonnes of low-carbon circular materials back into use each year.

Earlier this year, Freepoint announced the development of its flagship advanced plastics recycling facility in Ghent. In the coming months, Renewi and Freepoint Eco-Systems will work together to establish the pre-processing infrastructure, which will allow for the supply of 80,000 tonnes of feedstock for that plant. Pyrolysis in advanced recycling is a thermal decomposition process in which existing plastic materials are heated without oxygen to break them down into smaller molecules for use as raw material. Freepoint Eco-Systems’ advanced recycling facility will make it possible to recycle complex, mixed plastics that are difficult to process in any other way, making this facility a perfect complement to mechanical recycling.

The collaboration between Renewi and Freepoint Eco-Systems represents a significant step in the waste treatment chain and a major development in Europe’s circular economy. This partnership will bridge the current gap between waste and products and aligns with the ecological commitments (Green Deal) and emerging obligations for recycled content in new products.

By diverting end-of-life plastics that would otherwise be incinerated, this advanced recycling project is expected to enable a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, as well as a reduced need for fossil resources to produce new products. It will bring value to the local and global circular economies, from upstream waste material extraction to downstream end products.

Freepoint Eco-Systems and Renewi are exploring the development and co-investment of a new sorting facility that will be essential for producing the 80,000 tonnes of feedstock needed for the advanced recycling plant. Renewi will leverage its accumulated expertise with its state-of-the-art residual waste sorting line, which has been operational for over a year and has already demonstrated the ability to produce high-quality feedstock for advanced recycling.

This new sorting line will utilise various innovative sorting techniques, including the utilisation of residual heat from the advanced recycling plant. This process will transform different end-of-life plastic sources into a consistent and high-quality feedstock, reintegrating them into the circular economy.

"We are very pleased to embark on this first step with Freepoint Eco-Systems in the development of their first advanced plastic recycling facility. This collaboration fits perfectly with our strategy as a waste-to-product company and represents a significant milestone in our commitment to a circular economy and sustainable solutions. By combining our expertise in the waste and chemical sectors, we aim to address the growing need for innovative processes in the treatment of end-of-life plastics," stated Mark Thys, Chief Operating Officer of Commercial Waste for Renewi.

“This project is a clear example that only through cross-industrial collaboration can the plastic waste crisis be tackled,” said Jacco de Haas, Freepoint Eco-Systems’ Chief Commercial Officer, Recycling Europe. “The waste streams which now end up in incineration, combined with the expertise of Renewi and the new sorting line, will increase the total plastic recycling rates and will be fully complementary to mechanical recycling.”

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