AmSty's sustainability journey is in the spotlight with the recent release of a segment on Viewpoint, a national television program that highlights the good work of innovative companies across the country. The documentary-style piece features Regenyx, AmSty's joint circular recycling venture with Agilyx, and aired on Fox Business Network in late 2022. It was also distributed to other cable and public television stations nationwide.
"The piece related everything that's being done, including the technology and expertise involved, to show the public that a process like this can be successful," said Anne Boudreaux, AmSty senior account executive, who was featured in the video. "I thought it was very important to demonstrate the connection between the consumer shown bringing their waste packaging and foam food containers to the facility and the circular recycling solution at Regenyx."
Located in Tigard, Oregon, and launched in 2019, Regenyx is the world's first commercial-scale circular recycling facility. There, polystyrene products like foam cups, appliance packaging and other single-use products are recycled down to their base liquid. From there, products with the quality and durability of brand new products are created. Millions of pounds of plastic have been recycled at Regenyx.
"Because this process can convert polystyrene back to its original building blocks, we are able to divert difficult to recycle materials from landfills and instead create new polystyrene products," said Julia Roubidoux, senior research and development scientist with Agilyx, who also was featured. "It's a robust technology that provides an elegant solution to a complex problem."
In addition to Boudreaux and Roubidoux, the documentary included Randy Pogue, AmSty president and CEO, and Tim Barnette, vice president of polymers and sustainability.
Enhancing our everyday lives, polystyrene is a valuable and versatile plastic that Boudreaux said can now be recycled continuously, reducing the demand on fossil fuels that are used to create virgin plastic.
"It's amazing to think that future generations could be drinking from a cup made from the same material used in drink cups years before," she said.
The technology allows AmSty to serve customers who have set ambitious sustainability goals. The company's long-term vision is that polystyrene products should never be landfilled, but instead, reclaimed, reprocessed and reused again and again. As part of that commitment, AmSty has pledged to have 30 percent recycled content in all materials for food packaging products by 2030. "Boudreaux is inspired by the programs and initiatives that are in place at AmSty to meet their goal.
Regenyx is just the beginning of a journey to make polystyrene recycling commonplace. While the path is still being paved, there are drop-off sites across the country for consumers to dispose of their polystyrene foam waste. Find a location near you.
Thanks to the success at Regenyx, Boudreaux is hopeful that one day everyone – consumers and customers alike – will have access to polystyrene recycling, keeping it in circulation and out of our landfills.