LyondellBasell acquires PreZero mechanical recycling assets, plans California operations

Houston-based chemical company LyondellBasell has acquired the mechanical recycling assets and properties containing rigid plastics recycling processing lines from PreZero, a Germany-based recycling and waste management service provider. The transaction includes leasing PreZero’s processing facility in Jurupa Valley, California, which has production capacity of approximately 50 million pounds of recycled materials per year.

The company expects to start operations at its new facility in 2025.

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“This acquisition further strengthens our U.S. presence and will deliver value for our customers and plastic recycling rates on the West Coast,” says Yvonne van der Laan, executive vice president, circular and low carbon solutions, at LyondellBasell. “We will build upon our existing experience in plastic recycling in Europe and deliver a state-of-the-art mechanical recycling facility to meet growing demand for recycled products in the U.S.”

The company plans to use its newly acquired mechanical recycling plant in California to manufacture postconsumer recycled resins using plastic scrap feedstock. LyondellBasell will offer these recycled polymers under its CirculenRecover brand, which is part of its Circulen portfolio of products that contribute to a circular economy.

LyondellBasell says the transaction supports its efforts to build a circular economy for plastic, help end plastic waste in the environment and meet customers’ growing demand for sustainable products.

“Together with the previously announced equity stake in the Cyclyx joint venture and investment in the Cyclyx Circularity Center in Houston, this latest California-based transaction will further enhance the competitiveness of LyondellBasell in the U.S. recycled products market," the company says in a news release.

Since expanding from its Neckarsulm, Germany, headquarters, PreZero boasts environmental services operations in 10 countries, including a U.S. base founded in 2018 in Jurupa Valley. The company had another U.S. location in Westminster, South Carolina. However, that facility closed in 2022, with PreZero saying the mover was the best way forward in pursuit of its vision. A spokesman for the company at the time said the site was underperforming.