AmSty starts using recycled polystyrene in production

The Woodlands, Texas-based polystyrene producer AmSty has started using recycled polystyrene (PS) as feedstock at its styrene production facility in St. James, Louisiana. Tigard, Oregon-based technology development company Agilyx converts the postconsumer PS into feedstock for AmStyunder an offtake agreement.

The milestone “marks the first time a plastics producer has successfully produced a high-purity ASTM styrene from polystyrene” scrap, AmSty says.

As reported by Recycling Today, AmSty and Agilyx formed a joint venture in November 2018 to develop a 50-ton-per-day PS recycling facility that would convert postconsumer PS back into its original liquid styrene monomer form. The venture is still “in process” and is expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2019, the company says.

The material delivered from Agilyx to AmSty’s St. James facility is “in accordance with an offtake agreement between the two companies,” AmSty says. Once the recycled styrene monomer is processed, it will go to an AmSty PS production facility to be converted into pellets, the building blocks for both solid and foam products used for food service packaging, including cups, plates and to-go containers.

“This is another major milestone for the advancement of the circular economy,” Agilyx CEO Joe Vaillancourt says. “Our partnership with AmSty remains a great example of how we can come together to help change the waste and recycling industry to dramatically improve the recyclability of plastics, particularly polystyrene, with a favorable environmental profile.”