DuPont receives Plastics Industry Awards for LuxCR process

During the Plastics Industry Awards in London on Sept. 27, DuPont Teijin Films, Chester, Virginia, received the award for the U.K. Best Recycled Plastics Product 2019. The award was for DuPont’s LuxCR depolymerization process, which represents the only source of bioaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) film for which high levels of chemically recycled polymer that is compliant with EU food legislation. 

According to a news release from U.K.-based RECycling of Used Plastics Ltd. (RECOUP), the judges of the competition recognized LuxCR depolymerization process as a real demonstration of chemical recycling that is available today.

“We are extremely proud to have won this award and it reflects the hard work and dedication put in by the team to get us to this stage of our project,” says Steven Davies, EMEA packaging market manager at DuPont Teijin Films UK Ltd. “We believe the LuxCR process can be seen as a case study to prove the economic and technical feasibility of chemical recycling working alongside mechanical recycling, opening up a wider range of high value, technically advanced end uses for plastic waste.”

The Plastics Industry Awards first launched in 2001 and are held annually in London. The awards, which are organized by Plastics New Europe, are dedicated to rewarding innovation and exceptional performance in the plastics industry. The U.K. Best Recycled Plastics Product award has been around for six years and was supported and promoted by RECOUP in an effort to drive forward recycled plastic markets, demonstrating commitment by the industry to circular economy and resource efficiency.   

“In a consumer atmosphere where we are experiencing such plastic phobia, it is important we show advances being made in improving circularity both with existing mechanical recycling and how new chemical recycling technologies can be used alongside existing approaches,” says Stuart Foster, CEO of RECOUP, about the awards. “It is crucial that the public start to see how progress is being made in this arena and that plastics are moving forward to a more circular and sustainable future.”