Food packaging, plastics and recycling manufacturers committed on Wednesday, under pressure from the government, to jointly create a 100% operational recycling channel in France in 2025. Used yoghurt pots or polystyrene trays, even sorted, are hardly ever recycled (no more than 3 to 4%, according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition) and many end up in the oceans.

The goal is to reuse the thousands of tons of single-use polystyrene packaging thrown away each year, which goes to landfill or incineration, even if it is properly sorted in the yellow bin, or in the wild. .

"The initial premise is to create a French sector for recycling polystyrene food packaging with return to food contact" indicated a manager of Syndifrais (fresh dairy products).

Three projects in France

To achieve this, three projects based on chemical recycling are being developed in France. This process involves breaking down the plastic with return to the basic cell, the monomer, to reassemble and then manufacture new polymers. The first project is led by Michelin, which plans to have a pilot plant operational in 2021 with its partner Pyrowaven and the start-up of an industrial unit "by the end of 2023", he said in a press release.

The second, carried by Ineos Styrolution and Trinseo in the United Kingdom, provides for a plant operated by Ineos “between 2023 and 2025” at its French site in Wingles.

Finally, Total's chemical recycling unit at Grandpuits claims to be capable of integrating “up to 20% recycled polystyrene in 2023”.

The Ministry of Ecological Transition has taken note of the commitment charter signed on June 14 by manufacturers.

"Deposit" of "100,000 tons" to be recycled

In total, according to the ministry, “2.2 million tonnes of household, industrial or commercial plastic packaging are marketed in France, polystyrene alone representing more than 350,000 tonnes per year, or 7 % of materials used in all sectors ”. On the industrial side, we are rather working on a “deposit” of “100,000 tonnes” per year to be recycled. Each of the three units planned to handle between 10 and 15,000 tonnes per year, other units will be needed to meet the objective.

The sector was pushed by the Climate law, under discussion in the Senate, and by the Anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC), passed in February 2020, which requires moving towards 100% recycling of plastic packaging for use. single by 2025. The industry still reserves a way out at the end of 2021 in the event of non-viability of the project. "But in this case, manufacturers undertake to eliminate polystyrene from their packaging," said an industrial source on Wednesday evening.

The plastics industry was recently moved by “plastic bashing” and the contradictory injunctions it said it was subjected to by the public authorities, the National Assembly having voted in the framework of the Climate law to ban outright. of any polystyrene packaging, while the AGEC law required their recycling.

Tuesday evening, an amendment voted in the Senate took over the text by banning polystyrene packaging "which would not be recycled".

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