Companies explore polystyrene recycling system in France

Three French companies–Citeo, Total and Saint-Gobain–along with the French Union of Fresh Dairy Product Manufacturers (Syndifrais) are joining forces to develop and build what they call an industrial-scale polystyrene (PS) recycling system in France. The consortium says it aims to validate the system’s technical and cost feasibility within 18 months.

The four entities say the PS consumer packaging chain must “actively seek a recycling solution that will enable the development of a circular economy for these products.” The effort, they say, will involve not only collecting the packaging and finding technical means for recycling it, but also identifying uses for the recycled-content PS.

Syndifrais estimates some 110,000 metric tons of PS packaging is put on the market each year in France.

With the help of Citeo, France’s fresh dairy product manufacturers intend to develop a system for the separation, sorting and preparation of several hundred tons of post-consumer PS from France's household recyclables sorting programs.

Syndifrais says it also will use the project’s technical findings to improve the design of packaging so it will be easier to recycle.

Total’s role will be to use the sorted and prepared PS in its plastic production units in Carling, France, and Feluy, Belgium. PS scrap from sources such as construction also can be used. The end product will be expected to meet the same specifications as virgin PS.

Total tested its PS recycling technology in 2017 in preliminary industrial trials, with the objective to later scale up production. A target has been set of 4,000 tons of output containing at least 20 percent recycled PS in 2019. Total says it will also make available its “dedicated research and development resources” for the project.