How does PlastiLoop ensure environmental impact is minimized throughout its recycling processes across its facilities in Asia?
At PlastiLoop, we take a comprehensive approach to minimising environmental impact throughout our recycling operations. First, we carefully select the types of plastics to recycle based on achieving a closed-loop system, ensuring recycled plastics are turned back into the same applications—like food-grade packaging made from 100% food-grade materials.
We also prioritise locally sourcing our feedstock from both formal and informal sectors near our facilities. This reduces transportation emissions while cleaning up domestic waste in local communities. Our recycled plastics have reduced carbon footprints by 70% to 95% compared to virgin plastics.
Additionally, we utilise Veolia's GreenPath platform, which calculates environmental footprints and highlights the benefits of our recycling solutions. GreenPath allows us to continually analyse and improve emissions across our operations.
Our approach focuses on minimising environmental impact and supporting a sustainable circular economy.
Can you elaborate on the methods used by PlastiLoop to maintain high quality standards and regulatory compliance in the recycled polymers industry?
We place a strong emphasis on maintaining the highest quality standards and stringent regulatory compliance across our recycled polymers operations.
PlastiLoop utilises a range of advanced mechanical and chemical recycling technologies tailored to specific plastic types and customer needs. Our mechanical facilities feature AI-powered robotic sorting and near-infrared spectroscopy. For more complex plastics, we employ innovative chemical recycling like pyrolysis. These technologies enable us to recycle a broader range of materials into higher-quality recycled polymers.
Traceability and adherence to food contact regulations are paramount, especially for recycled plastics entering the food and beverage sector. Brand owners can have full confidence in the safety and traceability of our food-grade recycled plastics. We follow all existing regulations through tightly controlled feedstock selection and a commitment to comprehensive traceability from feedstock reception through initial production stages.
For food contact applications, we have dedicated production lines specifically for treating plastics suitable for this highly regulated market. This allows the materials to re-enter food and beverage channels while meeting the strictest safety requirements.
Our recycled polymer products meet or exceed various certifications and standards including FDA, EFSA, EuCertPlast, Global Recycled Standard, RoHS, Recyclass, and Halal in certain regions. We work closely with the extensive Veolia network of regulatory experts to ensure compliance with waste management and plastics regulations worldwide.
Quality and compliance are embedded into every step of our process - from production controls to leveraging Veolia's expertise, and cutting-edge recycling technologies. Maintaining the highest standards is critical to providing our customers with recycled polymers they can trust.
What strategies does PlastiLoop use to support clients in their transition to circular, sustainable practices?
As part of Veolia's GreenUp strategy, PlastiLoop is accelerating sustainable plastic recycling across Asia to help our clients reduce their carbon footprints by up to 95% compared to virgin plastics.
With 12 recycling facilities and an annual capacity of 250,000 tonnes across Asia, we prioritise locally sourcing feedstock from both the formal and informal sectors. This localised model reduces transportation emissions while fostering circularity within regional markets.
Our expertise spans the entire plastics value chain - from collection and sorting to recycling and ecodesign. This end-to-end knowledge allows us to customise solutions tailored to each client's unique needs across diverse industries, resins, and markets. We offer over 200 grades of high-quality circular polymers engineered to meet specific technical and commercial requirements.
Crucially, we support clients in integrating recycled content into their products to enhance sustainability and comply with evolving regulations. Our innovative recycling technologies like AI-powered robotic sorting maximise recycling rates and material quality, and digital tools like GreenPath to analyse emissions and environmental footprints. This data-driven approach identifies further opportunities for our clients to reduce impacts.
PlastiLoop provides a comprehensive suite of plastics recycing. This unmatched offering enables us to be a strategic partner supporting brand owners in achieving their circular economy objectives across Asia.
How does PlastiLoop’s extensive network of facilities contribute to achieving a lower carbon footprint in polymer recycling operations?
PlastiLoop's strategic network of 12 recycling facilities strategically located across major markets in Asia is a key enabler in reducing the carbon footprint of our plastics recycling operations. This extensive regional presence allows us to locally source from collection sectors near our plants.
By prioritising local sourcing, we minimise the emissions associated with long-distance transportation of plastic waste. This localised approach reduces our Scope 3 emissions while simultaneously encouraging circular economy ecosystems within Asian communities.
Our facilities employ best-in-class recycling technologies like AI-powered robotic sorting, near-infrared spectroscopy, and innovative chemical recycling processes like pyrolysis. These advanced solutions maximise recycling rates and material quality to produce high-grade circular polymers with low embodied carbon.
What challenges does PlastiLoop face in scaling its recycling processes sustainably across multiple countries, and how does it overcome them?
PlastiLoop has already established a strong position to partners with brand presence in Asia to help them adopt recycled plastics and meet their sustainability needs as the market transforms. As PlastiLoop expands its sustainable recycling operations across the global market, we face several key challenges that must be navigated carefully.
Recycling infrastructure and regulations can vary significantly between countries. we must adapt to diverse waste management systems, policies, and compliance requirements. We overcome this by leveraging Veolia's extensive global network and regulatory expertise to tailor our approach in each geography.
Transporting plastic waste and recycled materials over long distances is carbon-intensive. we therefore prioritises locally sourced feedstock near our strategically located recycling hubs. This localised model minimises Scope 3 emissions from transportation.
Sustainable practices cannot be achieved without healthy market demand for recycled plastic products. PlastiLoop works closely with various brands to integrate recycled content, develop new applications, and meet evolving regulations driving the circular economy. Our wide range of tailored polymer grades meets diverse quality and performance.
What role does technology play in enhancing PlastiLoop's efficiency and environmental impact in polymer recycling?
Technology is pivotal in enhancing PlastiLoop's efficiency and environmental impact in polymer recycling.
Thanks to our network of 37 plants worldwide, we have extensive experience with various equipment and technologies for plastic recycling. This allows us to choose the most advanced and suitable sorting technologies, such as ballistic separators, optical sensors, and artificial intelligence, to achieve the highest quality of recycled materials for our clients and partners.
In some cases, we have also implemented innovative chemical recycling processes that allow us to tackle hard-to-recycle plastics, expanding the range of materials we can effectively process.
Furthermore, our data-driven approach and digital monitoring systems optimise our recycling operations, reducing energy consumption and minimizing waste throughout the recycling process, thereby enhancing our overall environmental performance.
In what ways does PlastiLoop collaborate with other stakeholders, like governments and industry partners, to improve sustainability and recycling infrastructure in Asia?
With over 1,000 employees across 14 countries dedicated to operations, sales, administration, and support, our PlastiLoop community has an extensive regional presence to facilitate these vital partnerships.
We actively engage with local and national governments to align our initiatives with regulatory frameworks and waste management policies. This dialogue ensures our recycling solutions comply with the environmental and societal standards of the local markets.
PlastiLoop also maintains close relationships with industry partners along the entire plastics value chain - from waste collectors to brand owners and manufacturers. We consult with these partners to understand their needs, co-develop innovative recycling technologies, and create new circular business models.
We also collaborate with scientific communities across Asia. Veolia's global network of scientists works alongside our regional teams to advance collection, sorting, recycling, formulation and digitalisation solutions tailored to local plastic waste streams. Our on-site laboratories conduct rigorous materials analysis to ensure we meet customer quality requirements.
These collaborations allow us to co-create impactful recycling infrastructure while supporting the region's transition to a circular economy for plastics.
How does PlastiLoop measure and report the environmental benefits of using recycled polymers compared to virgin materials?
At PlastiLoop, we are committed to transparently quantifying and reporting the significant environmental advantages of our recycled polymer solutions over virgin plastic materials. We leverage robust data analysis tools and methodologies to credibly measure impacts across key areas like greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and circularity metrics.
A core capability is Veolia's GreenPath platform, which consolidates all of our environmental footprint calculation tools into one integrated interface. GreenPath allows us to precisely model the carbon footprints and water footprints associated with each recycling operation and recycled polymer grade we produce. This analysis covers the full lifecycle impacts of sourcing, transportation, processing, and production.
For any given project or product, GreenPath establishes comprehensive baselines and calculates the reductions in emissions, water consumption, and other key impacts compared to conventional virgin plastics derived from fossil fuel feedstocks. We can evaluate different scenarios to identify optimal environmental pathways.
Can you share any specific case studies where PlastiLoop’s recycling solutions significantly reduced environmental impact for a client?
L'Oréal has been a key global customer and a strong supporter of our PlastiLoop recycled plastics. We recognise that L'Oréal has established clear goals to reduce the use of virgin plastics and increase the adoption of recycled plastics in their product packaging, particularly since the launch of their Plastic Packaging Policy in 2022.
As of 2023, 26% of the plastic used in L'Oréal's packaging comes from recycled or biobased sources, and 85% of the PET used is from recycled content. L'Oréal aims to achieve 50% of their plastic packaging from recycled or biobased sources by 2025, with a goal of reaching 100% by 2030.
The recent Ellen MacArthur Global Commitment 2024 Report, released in November, highlights L'Oréal as one of the signatories making significant progress among top FMCG companies. The percentage of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in L'Oréal's plastic packaging increased from 5% in 2019 to 32% in 2023, totaling 50,000 tons. This achievement, resulting from the collaboration between L'Oréal and Veolia, demonstrates our shared commitment to sustainability and our ongoing efforts to ensure the sustainability of our services and products.
To reduce the carbon footprint of cosmetic packaging, L'Oréal and Veolia are collaborating to establish a circular economy for plastics. Veolia is supplying L'Oréal with high-quality recycled plastic worldwide, which can eliminate between 50% and 70% of CO2 emissions compared to traditional bottles made from virgin plastic. Since 2021, Veolia PlastiLoop in China has been providing L'Oréal with innovative plastic recycling products and services. In 2024, the two companies have expanded their collaboration to include a broader range of recycled plastics. The Veolia China Huafei plant is now supplying L'Oréal with recycled polypropylene (r-PP) and recycled PET (r-PET), in addition to recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) in their plastic portfolio.
For more information, please visit www.veolia.co.uk