AmSty and Agilyx complete certified circular recycling pathway for polystyrene

A partnership between AmSty, said to be the largest polystyrene (PS) producer in the Americas, and Agilyx, a leader in advanced recycling technology, has reached a milestone with what’s being called the “successful completion of a fully circular pathway for PS recycling.”

PS waste is now being transformed from solid form to its liquid feedstock – called recycled styrene monomer (RSM) – at the two companies’ joint venture facility, Regenyx, operating in Tigard, Oregon. By receiving ISCC PLUS certification (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) for the complete pathway from waste aggregation to new PS production, the loop on the recycling circle for PS has been completed, the companies said in a statement. “These products can now be put back into the marketplace with original quality, holding third-party certification of recycled content,” they said.

For a recycling process to be circular, it must be regenerative, beginning and ending at the same place in the product life cycle. “From the consumer’s perspective, PS recycling begins as a consumer product used in the home – a food package or meat tray for example – and up until now has ended in the recycling bin or trash can,” the companies said. “Now, when a consumer uses a polystyrene product, it has the potential to be collected from mixed plastic waste, converted to feedstock, and processed into new polystyrene. From there, it can be re-formed into new products without any loss of material quality and enjoyed by consumers again and again.”

Through the ISCC PLUS certification process, recycled content can be assigned, certified, and claimed by package manufacturers. Consumers can readily identify circular products on the shelf and feel good about their choices and participation in sustainability.

“With this achievement, we can begin moving circular recycled products from concept to reality, and directly into the hands of consumers,” said Tim Barnette, vice president, polymers and sustainability at AmSty. “At a time when people are clamoring for solutions to sustainability advancements, we are proud to offer a circular solution from the plastics sector.”

A joint venture equally owned by Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP and Trinseo LLC, AmSty is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

Agilyx is a pioneer in the advanced recycling of difficult-to-recycle post-use plastic streams, and is headquartered in Tigard.