Eastman to invest $250 Million to build World-Scale Plastic-to-Plastic Molecular Recycling facility in Tennessee, U.S

Specifications:

Name:

Eastman to invest $250 Million to build World-Scale Plastic-to-Plastic Molecular Recycling facility in Tennessee, U.S

Location:

Kingsport, Tennessee

Company:

Eastman Chemical Company

Estimated Cost:

$250 million

Source:

eastman.com

Introduction:

Eastman Chemical Company plans to build one of the world's largest plastic-to-plastic molecular recycling facilities at its site in Kingsport, Tenn.

Features:

Through methanolysis, this world-scale facility will convert polyester waste that often ends up in landfills and waterways into durable products, creating an optimized circular economy. Over the next two years, the company will invest approximately $250 million in the facility.

Utilizing the company's polyester renewal technology, the new facility will use over 100,000 metric tons of plastic waste that cannot be recycled by current mechanical methods to produce premium, high-quality specialty plastics made with recycled content. This process of using plastic waste as the main feedstock is a true material-to-material solution and will not only reduce the company's use of fossil feedstocks, but also reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20-30 percent relative to fossil feedstocks.

This facility, which is expected to be mechanically complete by year-end 2022, will contribute to the company achieving its ambitious sustainability commitments for addressing the plastic waste crisis, which includes recycling more than 500 million pounds of plastic waste annually by 2030 via molecular recycling technologies. The company has committed to recycling more than 250 million pounds of plastic waste annually by 2025.