YewMaker, the executive lead of the Sustainable Medicines Partnership (SMP), is announcing that Agilyx has joined as a Founding Collaborator. The SMP is a not-for-profit private-public collaboration executing projects to make the use of medicines more sustainable and less wasteful.
Agilyx (Euronext Growth (Oslo): “AGLX”) is a technology company that enables customers to recycle difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics to high value, virgin-equivalent products.
In its collaboration with the SMP, Agilyx will have an initial focus on enhancing medicines packaging sustainability. Roughly one trillion medicine packets are thrown away each year, destined for landfill or incineration even though most could be recycled. Eliminating the single use of these plastics is a priority for the SMP.
“Sustainable Medicines Partnership has an exemplary goal to make medicines more sustainable and equitable. Agilyx is extremely proud to join SMP in its work to reduce waste in medicines packaging,”. “There is a perception out there that packaging like blister packs can’t be recycled, but that is not the case. Our proven technology can create a more sustainable solution for this high-grade medical packaging.” – Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx
Agilyx will work with SMP to develop tested, data-driven, scalable solutions to address the factors that have previously made these materials hard to recycle such as the chemical complexity of the plastics involved and the logistical difficulties with collection, sorting and disposal in a highly siloed industry.
“Packaging plays an essential role in ensuring the quality and safety of medicines. Developing circular solutions to reduce single use of plastics in medicines packaging is a key focus of the SMP. We are delighted Agilyx, who are leading innovators in recycling complex plastics, will be working with us.”- Nazneen Rahman, YewMaker CEO, SMP Director.
Contacts:
YewMaker: comms@yewmaker.com
Agilyx: Kate Ringier kate.ringier@agilyx.com
About the Sustainable Medicines Partnership
The SMP is a not-for-profit, private-public, multi-stakeholder collaboration. Through executing priority actions, the Sustainable Medicines Partnership aims to stop the avoidable waste of medicines and medicines packaging – reducing healthcare emissions and increasing health equity globally. Learn more at www.yewmaker.com/smp
About YewMaker
YewMaker builds science-based, scalable, concepts and solutions that make healthcare more sustainable. YewMaker is the initiator and executive lead of the Sustainable Medicines Partnership. Learn more at www.yewmaker.com
About Agilyx
Agilyx is a technology company that enables customers to recycle difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics to high value, virgin-equivalent products. With a focus on diversion and conversion of plastic waste, Agilyx is uniquely positioned with a molecular recycling technology offering and an integrated feedstock solution by way of Cyclyx, an innovative feedstock management consortium of partners that drives up global plastic recycling rates by chemically fingerprinting plastic waste and matching it to appropriate recycling processes. Agilyx was the first to establish a commercial scale closed loop plastic-to-plastic chemical recycling facility and holds over 17 patents. Agilyx conversion technology utilizes pyrolysis without a catalyst and can convert mixed waste plastic to naphtha and fuels or depolymerize specific plastics such as polystyrene and PMMA (acrylic) back into virgin-quality products. Learn more at www.agilyx.com.
In an effort to help address packaging waste in the pharmaceutical industry, Agilyx has joined the Sustainable Medicines Partnership (SMP) as a programme collaborator and technology partner. SMP is a collaboration of some of the leading players in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. Agilyx joins other founding collaborators including AstraZeneca and Deloitte. YewMaker, the executive lead of the SMP, created the not-for-profit entity with an aim to make healthcare more sustainable by reducing the billions of medicines wasted every year.
This collaboration with SMP represents an important focus area for Agilyx, as its feedstock and technology solutions will be leveraged by SMP and its partners with the goal of developing closed-loop recycling for pharmaceutical packaging, material that has previously been considered difficult to recycle. This exciting new project opens new pathways for Agilyx technology while building on the capabilities of both Cyclyx and Agilyx to address the most challenging plastic waste.
Roughly one trillion medicine packets are discarded each year, destined for landfill or incineration even though most medicines plastics could be recycled. Agilyx will concentrate efforts on SMP’s key priority of tackling discarded plastics and using it as a resource to deliver sustainable packaging to the pharmaceutical industry.
“Sustainable Medicines Partnership has an exemplary goal to make medicines more sustainable and equitable. Agilyx is extremely proud to join SMP in its work to reduce waste in medicines packaging,” said Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “There is a perception out there that blister packs can’t be recycled but that is not the case. Our proven technology can incorporate the PVC from blister packs into feedstock recipes that can create a more sustainable solution for these high-grade medical products.”
“Packaging plays an essential role in ensuring the quality and safety of medicines. Developing circular solutions to reduce single use of plastics in medicines packaging is a key focus of the SMP. We are delighted Agilyx, who are leading innovators in recycling complex plastics, will be working with us,” said Nazneen Rahman, YewMaker CEO, SMP Director
Agilyx will work with SMP to deliver tested, data-driven, scalable solutions to address the factors that have previously made these materials hard to recycle such as the chemical complexity of the plastics involved and the logistical difficulties with collection, sorting and disposal in a highly siloed industry. Beginning in early 2022, the collaboration will first focus on blister packs, a leading example of a material historically thought to be unrecyclable.
Oslo, Norway – February 21, 2022 – Agilyx (Euronext Growth Oslo: AGLX.OL; OTCQX: AGXXF), a technology company that enables customers to recycle the most challenging post-use plastics to high value, virgin-equivalent products, announced today the appointment of Jonathan Tyler as senior vice president of corporate development to help drive the company’s strategic planning process and investor relations strategy.
Mr. Tyler comes to Agilyx with over 25 years of experience in investment banking with a longstanding specialization across the chemical industry with related work in cleantech and sustainability. Tyler has held leadership positions with Houlihan Lokey, Bear Stearns (now JP Morgan), Goldman Sachs and Climate KIC. Early in his career he was a top ranked research analyst, including heading European chemical research for Goldman Sachs. He has worked on many of the most complex M&A and financial restructuring projects across the global chemical industry, and also numerous IPOs/listings. Most recently he served as managing director at Perella Weinberg Partners.
“We are excited to welcome Jonathan to Agilyx with his wealth of experience in strategic decision making and investor relations,” stated Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “Jonathan’s strong professional background will be vital in developing the strategic relationships needed to usher Agilyx into its next phase of growth.”
Mr. Tyler will be based at the company’s European hub, located just outside of Zurich, Switzerland.
Contacts
Kate Ringier
VP, Communications & Government Affairs
+ 41 43 883 0396
kate.ringier@agilyx.com
About Agilyx
Agilyx is a technology company that enables customers to recycle difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics to high value, virgin-equivalent products. With a focus on diversion and conversion of plastic waste, Agilyx is uniquely positioned with a molecular recycling technology offering and an integrated feedstock solution by way of Cyclyx, an innovative feedstock management consortium of partners that drives up global plastic recycling rates by chemically fingerprinting plastic waste and matching it to appropriate recycling processes. Agilyx was the first to establish a commercial scale closed loop plastic-to-plastic chemical recycling facility and holds over 17 patents. Agilyx conversion technology utilizes pyrolysis without a catalyst and can convert mixed waste plastic to naphtha and fuels or depolymerize specific plastics such as polystyrene and PMMA (acrylic) back into virgin-quality products. Learn more at www.agilyx.com.
Virgin Group and chemical conversion technology company Agilyx have announced they are forming a strategic partnership in order to research and develop lower-carbon fuel facilities to help address plastic pollution and the global transition to net-zero
Virgin Group and Agilyx aim to reuse plastic waste to produce synthetic crude oil that will then be refined into a lower carbon fuel. Plastic waste that otherwise would be un-recycled will be diverted from landfill and will help broaden options in the market for lower carbon fuels from the limited range available today. Virgin Group wants to provide lower carbon fuel solutions to the global-market and expects Virgin Atlantic and other Virgin companies to be early adopters, as part of the Group’s transitional plans of achieving net zero by 2050.
Virgin Group intends to work with Agilyx – whom it has been an investor in for many years – on the development of the production facilities based on its unique conversion technology. Cyclyx, an innovative feedstock company that is majority owned by Agilyx, will source the plastic waste used for the fuel in the first facility.
The first waste-to-fuel location is planned to be in the US, with an aspiration to roll-out similar plants in other countries, including the UK.
Agilyx’s proprietary technology is able to break down plastic waste through a pyrolysis process. Pyrolysis converts mixed waste plastic into a synthetic crude oil which, once further refined, can be used as a lower carbon fuel.
Josh Bayliss, CEO of the Virgin Group, says: “Innovation and entrepreneurship are important tools to address the climate crisis. Virgin and other companies have an important role to play in meeting those challenges, which is exactly why we are forming this strategic partnership with Agilyx. The creation of lower carbon fuel is an important step in the journey towards net zero. We are very pleased to be adding this project to the range of investments we continue to make aimed at addressing these issues.”
Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx, says: “We are pleased to be partnering with the Virgin Group to enable a technology solution for lower carbon fuels as it transitions on its journey to net zero. This platform is unique as it will be used for lower carbon fuels and has the future opportunity for the production of circular plastics. We view plastic waste as a valuable above ground resource that is not widely tapped into. Through our technology, we aim to unlock the value of plastic waste that otherwise may have been destined for landfill or incineration.”
Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, says: “In this decade, Sustainable Aviation Fuel is the key solution for decarbonisation of the aviation sector but we have a long way to go. Clearing the skies for tomorrow requires radical collaboration across innovators, producers, investors and airlines. We are delighted that Virgin Group and Agilyx are leading the charge to pilot new pathways in lower carbon fuels and we look forward to working closely with them to achieve our 10% SAF target by 2030.”
-ends-
For further information:
Charlotte Sjoberg
Communications Director, UK, Virgin
+44 7766 240821
charlotte.sjoberg@virgin.com
Kate Ringier
VP, Communications & Government Affairs, Agilyx
+ 41 43 883 0396
kate.ringier@agilyx.com
Virgin Atlantic
For further press information about Virgin Atlantic, please contact the Virgin Atlantic press office on press.office@fly.virgin.com or call 01293 747373.
Ryan Kisiel
Head of Sustain, Maitland /AMO
+44 (0) 207 379 5151
ryan.kisiel@maitland.co.uk
Notes to editors
Virgin companies which are expected to be early adopters of the lower carbon fuel include Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and Virgin Orbit. Virgin Voyages will also explore how the lower carbon fuel could advance its net zero goals.
About Virgin
The Virgin Group is a leading international investment group and one of the world’s most recognised and respected brands. Created in 1970 with the birth of Virgin Records, the Virgin Group has gone on to invest in, incubate, and grow a number of successful businesses in the private and public markets. The Virgin Group has expanded into many sectors since its inception, driven by Sir Richard’s ambition to create the world’s most irresistible brand. These sectors include travel & leisure, financial services, health & wellness, technology & internet-enabled, music & entertainment, media & mobile, space, and renewable energy. Avoiding the impacts of climate change is a key priority for the Virgin branded businesses and we believe that all Virgin branded companies should achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, further details on this will be published in the Virgin Group sustainability report later this year. Find out more at www.virgin.com.
About Agilyx
Agilyx is a technology company that enables customers to recycle difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics to high value, virgin-equivalent products. With a focus on diversion and conversion of plastic waste, Agilyx is uniquely positioned with a molecular recycling technology offering and an integrated feedstock solution by way of Cyclyx, an innovative feedstock management consortium of partners that drives up global plastic recycling rates by chemically fingerprinting plastic waste and matching it to appropriate recycling processes. Agilyx was the first to establish a commercial scale closed loop plastic-to-plastic chemical recycling facility and holds more than 17 patents. Agilyx conversion technology utilises pyrolysis without a catalyst and can convert mixed waste plastic to naphtha and fuels or depolymerize specific plastics such as polystyrene and PMMA (acrylic) back into virgin-quality products. Learn more at www.agilyx.com.
About Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic was founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson in 1984, with innovation and amazing customer service at its core. In 2021, Virgin Atlantic was voted Britain’s only Global Five Star Airline by APEX for the fifth year running in the Official Airline Ratings. Headquartered in London, it employs 6,500 people worldwide, flying customers to 27 destinations across four continents. Alongside shareholder and Joint Venture partner Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic operates a leading transatlantic network, with onward connections to more than 200 cities around the world. On 3 February 2020, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic launched an expanded Joint Venture, offering a comprehensive route network, convenient flight schedules, competitive fares and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem points / miles across all carriers.
Sustainability remains central to Virgin Atlantic, having taken an industry leadership position through its long-standing support for SAF commercialisation and fleet transformation programme. Since September 2019, the airline has welcomed eight new Airbus A350-1000 with a further A350-100 and three A339s entering the fleet in 2021. By the end of 2022 the average fleet age will be just over six years, driving a fuel efficiency (CO2 /RTK) improvement of 30% compared with 2007. For more information visit www.virginatlantic.com or via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @virginatlantic.
PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire, USA, January 20, 2022 – Cyclyx International, a consortium-based plastic feedstock management company with a mission to increase the recycling rate of plastic from 10% to 90%, has announced that Dow (NYSE: DOW) has joined the Cyclyx consortium.
As a leading materials science company, Dow is at the forefront in driving the transformational change that is needed to tackle the existential threats of climate change and environmental degradation.
Dow’s membership in Cyclyx will give it access to participate in customized takeback programs and innovations including plastic waste-based circular feedstock specifications tailored to its specific product pathways – which will help Dow to advance its sustainability and circularity goals.
Mary-Jane Hogg, global director of waste strategy for Dow, will serve on the executive advisory board of Cyclyx.
“Cyclyx’s unique approach to significantly increase plastic recycling rates supports Dow’s commitment to boost plastic circularity and keep plastic out of the environment,” said Hogg.
Cyclyx redirects more difficult to recycle plastic into recycling by tapping into extensive data on the chemical composition of post-use plastics and using AI and predictive analytics to put it to use.
“Our work with Cyclyx supports Dow’s collaboration on leading technologies to enable a sustainable future with resource-efficient production of certified circular plastics – to preserve the environmental benefits of plastics, including the critical role plastics play in reducing carbon emissions,” said Hogg.
Dow’s sustainability journey began more than 30 years ago, and today the company is delivering against its 2025 Sustainability Goals, its third generation of 10-year goals, developed in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and also recently announced additional targets directed specifically at addressing climate change and plastic waste.
“We’re excited to welcome Dow to Cyclyx and Mary-Jane to the executive advisory board,” stated Joe Vaillancourt, CEO of Cyclyx. “Dow has been very progressive in its commitment to environmental sustainability. Dow’s targets on eliminating plastic waste in the environment align well with Cyclyx’s mission to increase the recycling rate of plastics from 10% to 90%.”
Contacts
Kate Ringier
VP, Communications & Government Affairs
+ 41 43 883 0396
kate.ringier@agilyx.com
Eileen Zeng
EYZeng@dow.com
About Cyclyx International, LLC.
Cyclyx International, LLC. (“Cyclyx”) is a post-use plastic feedstock management company working with industry participants to develop innovative recycling solutions for all types of post-use plastics. The company’s mission is to increase the recycling rate of plastics from 10% to 90% by using Cyclyx’s expertise in understanding the chemical composition of post-use plastic in collaboration with industry partners to create a new, innovative supply chain. Cyclyx was founded by Agilyx Corporation (“Agilyx”), a leader in advanced chemical recycling, together with ExxonMobil Chemical Company, one of the largest chemical companies in the world. Cyclyx has been formed to be a consortium-based entity and since its founding there have been a growing number of companies joining its membership. For more information, visit us at www.cyclyx.com.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation and leading business positions to achieve profitable growth. The Company’s ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company, with a purpose to deliver a sustainable future for the world through its materials science expertise and collaboration with its partners. Dow’s portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer care. Dow operates 106 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 35,700 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $39 billion in 2020. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.
PORTLAND, Oregon, USA – January 11, 2022 – Agilyx, (Euronext Growth Oslo: AGLX.OL; OTCQX: AGXXF) a technology company that enables customers to recycle the most challenging post-use plastics to high value, virgin-equivalent products and Toyo Styrene Co., LTD (“Toyo Styrene”), an affiliate of Denka Company Limited, Nippon Steel Chemical & Material Co., Ltd. and Daicel Co., Ltd., announced today they are entering into the construction phase of a 10 ton per day chemical recycling facility in Japan, enabled by Agilyx depolymerization technology.
The recycling plant will convert post-use polystyrene into a styrene monomer that will be purified using Toyo Styrene’s proprietary purification process. Styrene monomer produced from this process can then be converted back into high value polystyrene products which bear a significantly lower carbon footprint than similar products made with virgin monomer.
“As the first step toward the circular economy, we will construct a chemical recycling plant for this project, collect post-industrial materials for the time being, and start a chemical recycling business.” said Sanshiro Matsushita, President of Toyo Styrene. “Furthermore, in order to build a carbon free society through chemical recycling in Japan, we are also planning to participate in a platform that integrates citizens, businesses, and local government, which is being undertaken by Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture.”
“The decision to move into the final stages of this project is a big accomplishment for the members of Agilyx and Toyo Styrene who have worked tirelessly to bring us to this point,” stated Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “We are very proud of their efforts and excited for the opportunity to bring our proven advanced recycling technology into the Asian markets to help improve the availability of recycled plastic content and increase global plastic recycling through circular pathways.”
Contacts
Kate Ringier
VP, Communications & Government Affairs
+ 41 43 883 0396
kate.ringier@agilyx.com
Toyo Styrene
Hiroshi Higuchi, Executive Officer, the office manager, environmental measures promotion office, Toyo Styrene Co.,Ltd.
+81-3-3519-5602
h-higuchi@toyo-st.co.jp
About Agilyx
Agilyx is a technology company that enables customers to recycle difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics to high value, virgin-equivalent products. With a focus on diversion and conversion of plastic waste, Agilyx is uniquely positioned with a molecular recycling technology offering and an integrated feedstock solution by way of Cyclyx, an innovative feedstock management consortium of partners that drives up global plastic recycling rates by chemically fingerprinting plastic waste and matching it to appropriate recycling processes. Agilyx was the first to establish a commercial scale closed loop plastic-to-plastic chemical recycling facility and holds over 17 patents. Agilyx conversion technology utilizes pyrolysis without a catalyst and can convert mixed waste plastic to naphtha and fuels or depolymerize specific plastics such as polystyrene and PMMA (acrylic) back into virgin-quality products. Learn more at www.agilyx.com.
About Toyo Styrene
Toyo Styrene was established in April 1999 as a company of consolidated polystyrene business carved out from Denki Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Current: Denka Co., Ltd.), Nippon Steel Chemical Co., Ltd. (Current:NIPPON STEEL Chemical & Material Co., Ltd.),and Daicel Chemical Co.(Current:Daicel Corporation). Since then, Toyo Styrene has been developing constantly the new high performance grade for answering the needs of customers such asEX7, HMT1, GA, Eneryts and FR-PS as well. For more information, follow us on social media and visit us at www.toyo-st.co.jp.
Circular materials are the talk of the town, and with good reason. The extraction of virgin materials currently causes roughly half of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Annual waste generation is projected to increase 70% by 2050. Slowing the extraction of virgin materials and building sustainable, long-lasting products is therefore vital to relieve pressure on our planet.
As we know, the decoupling of economic growth from virgin-material resource use will require mainstream economic players to make a decisive contribution to the circular economy. This is a shift we are starting to see, as both businesses and governments begin to create the right conditions for scale.
Europe’s recent proposal for its revised Waste Shipment Regulation, which would see significant restrictions on non-hazardous waste exports, is an encouraging move to help all of us consider waste differently. The molecules within waste – specifically plastic waste – are a precious above ground resource which should be stewards of.
The other part of this puzzle is of course our ability to treat, manage and recycle this waste. And the question top of mind here is, are we making full use of our recycling capabilities to keep valuable materials in a closed-loop economy?
With about 90% of plastic unrecycled globally, current data on our recycling levels would suggest there is some way to go to reduce that number to just 10%. The good news is that the scalable technology is out there to address this.
We need to talk about plastic waste as a valuable above ground resource
To dig a little deeper into the issues around recycling our waste, we first need to complete the shift in the way we view it. Moving away from the general practice of dismissing plastic as the original sin for environmental pollution, let’s look at how we manage the existing waste on our planet to maintain its original use and value.
It is by creating a more efficient and effective waste management system that we can extract waste’s value and shift the popular perception that plastic waste is not just what we discard, it is an unexploited above ground resource.
Today’s waste management system is highly fragmented across Europe. As national rules developed in silos, conflicting interpretations and applications of waste classification have evolved, often resulting in poor separate collection.
A harmonized process for waste classification, such as the EU’s Waste Shipment Regulation proposal on contamination thresholds, and effective separate collection can ultimately help us increase the quality and quantity of recycled plastics. It is a matter of collective will.
Addressing the plastics problem will require the support and participation of the entire value chain, with the ultimate goal of creating a new stream of virgin-equivalent materials for new products.
Agilyx has been at the core of the creation of a new consortium, Cyclyx, which is one example of how we can build the infrastructure to create this circular industry to recapture post-use plastics that would otherwise be lost to landfill or incineration. Through a network of partners, Cyclyx provides the missing link to bridge the gap between waste collector and recycler.
Our technology characterizes and qualifies plastic waste using proprietary algorithms and an extensive database of chemical compounds built over 17 years to aggregate and pre-process large volumes of post-use plastic, preparing it for recycling pathways.
We need incentives for front-runners developing state-of-the-art recycling technologies
Whilst still a nascent industry, advanced recycling technologies needed to convert post-use plastic back into its original form are out there. We’re starting to see major European markets make commitments to continue investing in these solutions.
France has recently pledged to invest in new recycling infrastructure and plastic-to-plastic recycling solutions and the newly formed German government has signaled it also intends to make new recycling technologies a key priority as part of their packaging law.
Whilst encouraging to see the issue of waste start to move up the political agenda, these commitments are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the funding needed to tackle the way in which waste is managed and treated.
We need the full spectrum of technological solutions to get our plastic recycling rates up to 90%. Existing recycling technologies such as chemical and mechanical recycling need to go hand in hand, there is no one size fits all solution. Each plastic has its own composition and code with different solutions that fit each type.
Agilyx has developed chemical recycling technologies in order to transform plastics previously thought to be non-recyclable into a range of new circular products. Our technology is uniquely positioned as a viable and more sustainable alternative to landfilling and incineration of difficult-to-recycle post-use plastic waste.
If we are serious about fulfilling our circular economy ambitions and creating a clear pathway to reducing pollution on the planet, we’ll need all these recycling innovations and more to transform our waste into fully circular materials.
Authored by
Tim Stedman, CEO Agilyx
Mr. Stedman has nearly 30 years of experience in the chemical industry covering plastics, elastomers and basic chemicals, such as olefins. He has held positions in operations, sales and marketing, global supply chains, business leadership as well as strategy and corporate development.
There is no silver bullet to solve the issue of plastic waste but the benefits of chemical recycling can help foster a more circular economy
Much has been said about reducing or eliminating plastic but utilizing and scaling the technology available to create a more circular economy that turns waste to value could be a better solution.
Industry will often talk about ‘closing the loop,’ but what do we really mean?
As the world’s population grows, it is inevitable that our plastic consumption will also increase. Some of the latest modelling from the International Energy Agency has said that plastic production could grow from 359 million tons in 2018 to 540 million by 2040. The challenge for us all – consumers, corporations and governments – is to ensure that this increased use of plastic does not lead to 540 million tons of plastic waste polluting our environment.
The solution is not to ban plastic outright, but to shift how we view, treat and manage plastic in our lives and supply chains. We must give it much greater value and see it not as just a throwaway commodity, but something that can be used, recycled and made into a new product. In turn this will create a circular economy by making sure that plastic which is no longer needed is collected and recycled again and again. This is closing the loop.
To solve the issue of plastic waste, we must highlight and embrace the technology that exists.
First however, we, as consumers and businesses, must accept this challenge. At present, less than 10% of the world’s plastic is recycled. A shocking 90% therefore ends up in landfill, is incinerated or worse still, pollutes our rivers, oceans and natural environment.
Despite significant advances over the years in recycling technology, participation at both consumer and corporate levels have struggled to keep pace. This is in part due to a lack of understanding about the technology, as well as the level of support and investment needed in the infrastructure.
Chemical recycling technology is already deployed around the world, saving a significant amount of waste from ending up in landfill and polluting our environment.
Chemical recycling has long been thought of as either too expensive or not scalable enough to create a fully closed loop circular system that everyone from businesses to consumers can benefit from.
At Agilyx, we’re currently on our seventh generation of chemical recycling technology and lead the industry with the first commercial-scale plastic-to-plastic recycling facility in Regenyx, our joint venture with Americas Styrenics (AmSty). With this technology we have recently passed a significant milestone having recycled more than 4,400 tons of post-use plastic. That’s the equivalent of nearly 20 Statues of Liberty since our launch!
Developed over more than a decade and a half, our technology can be easily scaled and applied to any number of chemical pathways to meet the requirements of our partners via our licensing model, so that more and more companies and consumers have access to leading recycling solutions for a variety of plastics.
This is significant because it enables us to turn some of the hardest to recycle and most contaminated post-use plastic back into its chemical building blocks, able to be transformed into high-grade applications such as food packaging or pharmaceutical products.
As proud as we are of our technology, we know we can’t do it alone. There are a number of chemical recycling and mechanical recycling technologies in existence today and it will take a combination of all of them in order to address the problem of plastic waste on a global scale. However, obtaining reliable sources of post-use plastic to be recycled is a long-standing barrier for the industry. Our joint venture, Cyclyx, is a consortium of companies working together to increase collection efforts in order to address this issue and get post-use plastic out of landfills and the environment and back into a circular economy.
If we want to truly conquer this issue, we must all work together to make it happen.
Closing the loop brings a range of benefits beyond finding a new purpose for converted plastic waste.
While many see the obvious benefits of recycling more, such as taking waste out of our environment and giving it new higher value uses, advancements and efficiencies in recycling technologies mean there are many additional benefits to creating a more circular economy.
Green investment in the industry will create new jobs and support innovation and wider improvements across the sector.
Chemical recycling also helps dramatically reduce the emissions from producing new plastic products, given the high energy levels needed to extract virgin raw materials. In fact, a recent life cycle analysis (LCA) of our depolymerization technology shows a 75% reduction in CO2-emissions over the production of ‘new’ plastic and incineration.
Companies are now having to consider their net impact on the world and face a constant battle with reducing their emissions. By increasing recycling rates or choosing to source or produce products and packaging from recycled materials, they can dramatically reduce their overall emissions.
We are all too aware of the impact plastic waste has around the world, but the solutions exist to better manage and convert it back into valuable products again. We must embrace the challenge and champion the technology. Moving to a fully circular economy is by no means easy, but if we capitalize on the progress and systems already in place, we’ll be much closer to making it a reality.
Authored by
Carsten Larsen, Chief Commercial Officer
Carsten Larsen is Chief Commercial Officer at Agilyx. An experienced commercial leader, Mr. Larsen brings more than 25 years of industrial expertise, most recently having served as commercial director, Plastics Circularity EMEA & APAC for Dow Inc.
Full production scale trial successfully proves technology for depolymerizing acrylic
TEESSIDE, England and OSLO, Norway, December 8, 2021 – Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates (MCM) and partner, Agilyx Corporation (OSE: AGLX), a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilyx AS (Euronext Growth (Oslo): “AGLX”) and a pioneer in the chemical recycling of post-use plastics, announced today the successful results of a full-scale production trial for polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA; commonly called acrylic) depolymerization at Agilyx’s facility in Tigard, Oregon.
The full-scale trial, conducted in August 2021, returned results consistent with the successful results of a laboratory-scale trial conducted in 2020. A mixed feedstock included both cast and extruded PMMA sheet, and the effects of different temperature settings were analysed to find the optimal conditions for PMMA pyrolysis.
Following the successful plant trial, experts from MCM and Agilyx met to build an action plan that sets out the required next steps.
“The results at full production scale are very encouraging,” said David Smith, circular economy programme lead, Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates. “The teams at both MCM and Agilyx worked very well together, and all parties are excited at the prospect of building a new PMMA depolymerization plant using Agilyx technology.”
“The results of our PMMA trials in Tigard have been very positive,” stated Carsten Larsen, CCO of Agilyx. “We’ve proven that Agilyx technology is capable of turning PMMA back into its original monomer, MMA, creating a truly circular material. We’re excited to continue our collaboration with Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates.”
The crude MMA produced during the plant trial is currently being distilled at MCM’s pilot plant in Wilton, England and will be used both for internal product development and to validate the purification solution that will be used in this process.
For further information, contact:
Scott Neal – Communications Specialist, Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates
Tel: +44 (0)1642 735066
scott.neal@m-chem.com
David Smith – Circular Economy Programme Lead, Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates
Tel: +44 (0)7885 239742
david.smith@m-chem.com
Kate Ringier – VP, Communications and Government Affairs, Agilyx
Tel: + 41 43 883 0396
kate.ringier@agilyx.com
About Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates
Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates (MCM) is the global Methacrylates Division of Mitsubishi Chemical and the world’s largest producer of methyl-methacrylate (MMA). With manufacturing sites, sales offices and distribution networks throughout Asia, the Americas and Europe, MCM creates products that improve the quality of life around the world, every single day. Learn more at www.mcc-methacrylates.com.
About Agilyx Corporation
Agilyx (AGLX) is an early leader in the advanced recycling of difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics. With Agilyx’s chemical recycling technology, mixed plastic waste or streams of discrete post-use plastics, such as polystyrene, can be converted to new virgin-equivalent plastics, as well as chemical products and fuels – creating the opportunity for true circularity. The company has not only developed these first-to-market products but has also developed a feedstock management company, Cyclyx International, LLC, and is partnering with a range of waste service providers, municipalities, petrochemical, and brand and retail companies to develop closed-loop recycling solutions for mixed waste plastics. www.agilyx.com.
Circular recycling company, Regenyx, confirmed today that it has transitioned to 100% renewable energy at its facility in Tigard, Oregon. The company is a joint venture between Agilyx Corporation (AGLX), a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilyx AS (Euronext Growth (Oslo): “AGLX”) and pioneer in the advanced recycling of post-use plastics, and AmSty, the largest polystyrene producer in the Americas. Joining together to form Regenyx in 2019, these companies are considered frontrunners in circular recycling for polystyrene and aim to lead future companies in choosing renewable energy.
Through enrollment in the Green Future Enterprise program with Portland General Electric (PGE), Regenyx will receive 100% of its electricity from wind sources. Using solely renewable energy sources supports a transition to a low-carbon economy, which is in line with Agilyx sustainability goals to mitigate climate-related impacts of its operations and disclosing the environmental footprint and energy efficiency of its circular recycling processes.
“Agilyx is using chemical recycling technology to help solve the problem of plastic waste in an effort to create a more sustainable, circular economy for plastics,” said Tim Stedman, CEO of Agilyx. “Using electricity derived from non-renewable resources to power that technology would be counter-intuitive. That’s why we are so pleased to announce that all of the electricity in Tigard will now come from renewable wind energy.”
Vice President of Polymers and Sustainability at AmSty, Tim Barnette, said, “AmSty and Agilyx are working diligently to make circular recycling as efficient and carbon-neutral as possible. We are optimistic that the move to wind-powered electricity will put us farther down that path and we’re grateful to have this source available.”
Contacts
Kate Ringier
VP, Communications & Government Affairs
+ 41 43 883 0396
kate.ringier@agilyx.com
Josh Want
Communications Manager
AmSty
Phone: +1 844-512-1212
Website: www.amsty.com
About Agilyx
Agilyx (AGLX) is an early leader in the advanced recycling of difficult-to-recycle post-use plastics. With Agilyx’s chemical recycling technology, mixed plastic waste or streams of discrete post-use plastics, such as polystyrene, can be converted to new virgin-equivalent plastics, as well as chemical products and fuels – creating the opportunity for true circularity. The company has not only developed these first-to-market products but has also developed a feedstock management company, Cyclyx International, LLC, and is partnering with a range of waste service providers, municipalities, petrochemical, and brand and retail companies to develop closed-loop recycling solutions for mixed waste plastics. www.agilyx.com.
About AmSty
AmSty is a leading integrated producer of polystyrene and styrene monomer, offering solutions and services to customers in a variety of global markets. AmSty is a member of the American Chemistry
Council and its Responsible Care initiative, and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. AmSty is a joint venture equally owned by Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP and Trinseo LLC.
PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire, USA, November 4, 2021 – Cyclyx International, a consortium-based plastic feedstock management company with a mission to increase the recycling rate of plastic from 10% to 90%, has announced that Corning Incorporated, one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, has joined as the newest member. With an initial focus on creating more circular pathways for plastics in the U.S. life sciences industry, Corning’s membership in the consortium will open up opportunities for increased landfill diversion by improving the recycling rate for its products used in life sciences research, liquid handing, and bioprocessing. Christie McCarthy, Director of Sustainability for Corning Life Sciences, will represent the company on the executive advisory board.
Corning has pledged to enhance manufacturing waste strategies across its sites by 2025 and initiated a partnership in 2020 with the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute to develop a formal waste management program. As a member of Cyclyx, Corning will gain access to services that include the design and execution of programs to expand collection of plastic waste from manufacturing, while also offering customers a path to recycle post-use plastics via Cyclyx’s ISCC PLUS certified process.
“By combining Cyclyx’s feedstock management technology with Corning’s extensive U.S. supply chain and knowledge of life sciences plastics, we can work together to make a circular economy for the life sciences industry a reality,” said McCarthy. “We look forward to bringing our passion for invention and innovation to the advisory board to help reimagine how post-use plastic consumables can become regenerative cradle-to-cradle products.”
“We’re excited to welcome Corning to the Cyclyx consortium,” stated Joe Vaillancourt, CEO of Cyclyx. “Corning is a brand that has been at the forefront of industry-leading innovation for more than 170 years. The company’s commitment to developing sustainable, more circular pathways for its products is admirable and, as a member company, the company will help drive our mission of increasing the recycling rate of plastic from 10% to 90%.”
Contacts
Cyclyx
Kate Ringier
VP, Communications & Government Affairs
+ 41 43 883 0396
kate.ringier@agilyx.com
Corning
Elizabeth Fryman
+ 1 978 684 2659
frymane@corning.com
About Cyclyx International, LLC.
Cyclyx International, LLC. (“Cyclyx”) is a post-use plastic feedstock management company working with industry participants to develop innovative recycling solutions for all types of post-use plastics. The company’s mission is to increase the recycling rate of plastics from 10% to 90% by using Cyclyx’s expertise in understanding the chemical composition of post-use plastic in collaboration with industry partners to create a new, innovative supply chain. Cyclyx was founded by Agilyx Corporation (“Agilyx”), a leader in advanced chemical recycling, together with ExxonMobil Chemical Company, one of the largest chemical companies in the world. Cyclyx has been formed to be a consortium-based entity and since its founding there have been a growing number of companies joining its membership. For more information, visit us at www.cyclyx.com.
About Corning Incorporated
Corning (www.corning.com) is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science, with a 170-year track record of life-changing inventions. Corning applies its unparalleled expertise in glass science, ceramic science, and optical physics along with its deep manufacturing and engineering capabilities to develop category-defining products that transform industries and enhance people’s lives. Corning succeeds through sustained investment in RD&E, a unique combination of material and process innovation, and deep, trust-based relationships with customers who are global leaders in their industries. Corning’s capabilities are versatile and synergistic, which allows the company to evolve to meet changing market needs, while also helping its customers capture new opportunities in dynamic industries. Today, Corning’s markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display, automotive, and life sciences.