Dow, a leader in materials science, has partnered with French recycling company Valoregen to jointly build a recycling site in France, which will reportedly be the largest single hybrid site for plastic recycling in the country.

As per the agreement, the site will be owned and operated by Valoregen, with Dow being the main off-taker of post-consumer resins (PCR) produced from the new plant and will use them to develop new plastic products marketed under its “REVOLOOP” product range. Dow will also support Valoregen with its expertise in recycling technology and in the construction and development of the plant. The site is expected to have a capacity to process up to 70 kilotons of plastic waste per year when operational by the end of Q1 2023.

The hybrid plant will use a combination of mechanical recycling (to process certain plastic waste into secondary products) and an advanced recycling process (to break down mixed, hard-to-recycle plastics and process them into new virgin-like polymers). The combination of technology is stated to increase energy efficiency, resulting in a yield greater than 80%, which is above the 60%–70% average conventional mechanical recycling efficiency levels.

The partnership is in line with Dow’s commitment to incorporate at least 100,000 tonnes of recycled plastics in its product offerings sold in the European Union by 2025.