New York-based sustainable technology company Anellotech has announced that a laboratory demonstration of its latest technology, which transforms mixed plastic waste directly into chemicals, successfully converted a Lays (PepsiCo) barbeque potato chip bag into paraxylene, the primary chemical used to make virgin polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for beverage bottles.
[PETÂ or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) is the most common plastic for single-use bottled beverages, because it is inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to recycle. It poses low risk of leaching breakdown products. Recycled polyethylene terephthalate is known as rPET, and it is the most widely recycled plastic in the world.]
Consumer goods brand owners in the beverage, textile, food and cosmetics sectors are setting ambitious 2025-2030 goals to include recycled PET (rPET) content in their products. Used beverage bottles are the main source of rPET – however, not enough beverage bottles are currently produced, collected or recycled to satisfy growing global demand.
By successfully converting multilayer food packaging like potato chip bags and other non-PET waste plastics into chemicals including para-xylene, Anellotech (@anellotech)Â can help brand owners meet their recycled PET content targets, the company said in a statement.
David Sudolsky, President & CEO of Anellotech, said “This is a world first, a significant step forward for our Plas-TCat technology.” Anellotech also said that Plas-TCat has the potential to convert a wide mix of plastics and natural materials – including single-use packaging like the Lay’s Barbeque Potato Chip bag – directly into commodity chemicals.
