#Recycling / Circular Economy

2021-10-21

Plastic Energy announces final investment decision and start of construction works for advanced recycling plant in France

Plastic Energy has today announced the final investment decision and start of construction for its advanced recycling plant in northern France. The large-scale recycling plant will have a capacity of 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste per annum, with plans to scale-up to 33,000 tonnes in the near future, and will be adjacent to ExxonMobil’s Notre Dame de Gravenchon petrochemical complex.

FID for advanced recycling project near Le Havre, France, has been reached after announcement of initial collaboration agreement with ExxonMobil in March 2021

Civil works have begun on the large-scale 25,000 tonne/annum recycling plant for end-of-life plastics, with start-up anticipated for 2023

Plans were finalised after the project was awarded the necessary environmental permits to begin construction in July

The announcement of the FID and start of civil works comes after the granting of environmental permits for the project in July of 2021. These permits ensure that the Plastic Energy plant will abide by all European environmental regulations from construction to continuous operation.

Earlier this year, Plastic Energy signed an offtake collaboration agreement with ExxonMobil. As per the agreement, TACOIL (or recycled oils) from this Plastic Energy plant will be used by ExxonMobil to create virgin-quality certified circular polymers and other high-value products. Start-up of the advanced recycling plant is anticipated in 2023.

Plastic Energy is a global leader in advanced recycling, specialising in recycling end-of-life plastics that would otherwise be destined for landfill, incineration or end up in the environment. The company’s patented, innovative technology transforms plastic waste into raw materials that can be used as a substitute for fossil oils in the manufacturing of virgin- quality food-grade packaging.

“We are excited to announce that construction is going ahead for our large-scale advanced recycling plant in France, which will recycle mixed post-consumer plastic waste,” said Carlos Monreal, Founder and CEO of Plastic Energy. “Through our collaboration with ExxonMobil, we are working towards making plastics more sustainable for the future.”

“ExxonMobil is investing in projects around the world that help society address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment,” said Loic Vivier, senior vice president of Performance Derivatives, ExxonMobil Chemical Company. “With the addition of well- designed policies and collaboration across industries, the advanced recycling opportunities we are evaluating and executing have the potential for large-scale, game-changing improvements to the circularity of plastic products.”

The construction of this plant will benefit the circular economy in France by diverting plastic waste from linear treatments, and reducing both plastic waste in the environment, and the depletion of natural resources.

This project has received financial support from the French government as part of their Plan de Relance and Regional Planning Grant Scheme.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

HKRITA signs MoU with Jeanologia and Looptworks to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) yesterday officially signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two key global partners, Jeanologia and Looptworks, to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem – a first-of-its-kind collaboration to accelerate the large-scale recycling of blended textiles.

Object Carpet tests production of rPET BCF yarn on Neumag BCF line

In a joint project with Object Carpet GmbH, Denkendorf; the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA), Augsburg; and Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR), Feldkirchen, Austria, Barmag investigated the processing of recycled polyester for BCF yarn. The goal was to evaluate the fundamental suitability of 100% recycled carpet material for reuse in carpet yarn production to create a closed-loop system in carpet manufacturing. To date, commercial rPET BCF processes have been based solely on rPET from bottle pellets.

Albany International reports progress with Cyclezyme on industrial textile recycling project

Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN) reports continued progress in the ongoing project with Cyclezyme AB, a leader in advanced enzyme-based plastic recycling, based in Sweden. The project exemplifies leading edge innovation in materials science, focusing on the development of enzyme-based recycling of industrial textiles primarily consisting of polyester and polyamide, where there is currently a significant lack of effective solutions for circular material flows. The objective of the project is to establish enzymatic processes for depolymerization and recycling of technical textiles and high-performance industrial materials.

EDANA announces five new board members following 2026 Annual General Meeting

The EDANA Board of Governors is elected or re-elected at the Annual General Meeting by the member companies. The Governors are senior executives (business leaders) from member companies, based in different countries and representing different sectors of the nonwovens industry. The Board has central responsibility for guiding EDANA's overall strategy and approving its policies and priorities. It meets three times a year.

Cotton made in Africa partners receive top marks in independent verifications

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) and CmiA Organic are two internationally recognised standards that aim to promote sustainable development in the African cotton sector south of the Sahara. To ensure the standards’ credibility among brands, retailers, and consumers, independent verifiers evaluate compliance on the ground. The verification results for 2025, now published in the Aggregated Verification & Implementation Report, were very strong: The verifiers awarded consistently very good remarks regarding management, people, prosperity, and the environment.

Bangladesh: Italian textile machinery mission stops in Dhaka and Chittagong

Technological upgrading and the transition toward higher value-added production are driving the new Italian industrial mission to Bangladesh. This year, the mission will split between the country’s two main manufacturing hubs, where Italian manufacturers will meet the leaders of the local textile supply chain in two strategic stages: July 7th in Dhaka and July 9th in Chittagong.