The promise of recycling sounds pretty amazing: throw your used packaging in your recycling bin and it magically becomes something else. It works great for a few types of plastic, but unfortunately it doesn’t work so well with all of the various types of complex plastic in our current system. 

Mechanical recycling is a very effective, environmentally friendly process that should be used whenever possible. However, mechanical recycling is generally unable to process the other commonly used types of plastic marked with RICs 3 through 7 in the U.S. —items like fast food containers, colored plastic bottles, plastic eyeglass frames, etc. As a result, these types of plastic typically end up in landfills or incinerators.

So how do brands deliver on their recycled content goals without compromising the performance or quality of their packaging and products? Material-to-material molecular recycling is a key piece of the equation. By breaking down hard-to-recycle plastic waste to their molecular form, this process produces recycled content that looks like — and performs like — first-generation content.

In this presentation, Chris Layton of Eastman will explain how molecular recycling works and discuss innovative sustainability technologies available at scale now. Layton will also provide three ways Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies can complement mechanical recycling, highlighting three case studies from valued partnerships with major brands. To learn more, attendees can download Eastman’s one-pager, “Three Ways Molecular Recycling Complements Mechanical Recycling” at the end of the session.