
LyondellBasell, a Houston-based company that bills itself as one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Paris-based waste and recycling company Suez to purchase a 50 percent stake in Quality Circular Polymers (QCP).
QCP is a plastics reprocessing and compounding company based in Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The company was founded in 2014. Its Sittard-Geleen facility, near Maastricht, has been designed to convert postconsumer plastic scrap into 35,000 tons of polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) recycled-content polymers per year starting in 2018.
The transaction marks the first time that a major plastics and chemicals company partners with a leader in resource management to contribute to circular economy objectives, say the companies.
“As the circular economy increases in prominence and importance, we believe that demand for recycled materials will continue to grow,” LyondellBasell CEO Bob Patel and Suez CEO Jean-Louis Chaussade say in a shared statement announcing the joint venture. “This acquisition combines LyondellBasell’s European market presence and technical capabilities with Suez’s ability to collect and recover waste into new materials. We believe that this new venture will provide a strategic platform for future sustainable growth.”
LyondellBasell will market QCP materials following the completion of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval. LyondellBasell and Suez say they are seeking to secure regulatory approval by the end of 2017.
LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and describes itself as the world’s largest licensor of polyolefin and PP technologies.
With 90,000 employees on five continents, Suez says it is a world leader in smart and sustainable resource management. The group recovers 17 million tons of discarded materials per year and produces 3.9 million tons of secondary raw materials.
Latest from Recycling Today
- Port of LA reports hectic June
- Trade issues have nonferrous scrap heading into US
- Recycle BC portrays its end markets
- MP Materials to collaborate with Apple on rare earth elements recycling
- ABTC awarded $1M by DOE for Argonne Laboratory partnership
- Ocean Conservancy report claims most states lagging in plastic pollution efforts
- LRS diverts 330,000 tons of recyclable material in 2024
- FlexCAR project takes modular approach to automotive design