New Life For Polystyrene Plastic And A New Certification At Allyn’s Point
Many consumers have no idea where plastic products go after their useful life. At AmSty's Allyn's Point facility in Gales Ferry, CT, they are giving new life to plastic products through a process that ensures they're recycled to make other new products.
A supplier ships specific polystyrene, or chipped plastic, to the plant, where they undergo what's called a dissolution process. The PCR (post-consumer recycle) "flake," as it is called, is dissolved. The resulting material is formed into AmSty's PolyRenew® pellets that are then used by customers to create FDA-compliant products for food packaging, food service, and a variety of other markets.
AmSty is a pioneer in using this technology and applying it to post-consumer resins. As the industry leader in recycling polystyrene, AmSty has been recycling PCR flake in large quantities since 2013.The company is aiming to have 30% recycled content in all polystyrene food packaging products by 2030.
In 2021 alone, AmSty repurposed approximately 3 million pounds of plastic consumer products, keeping them out of the landfill.
Recently Allyn's Point was certified as an ISCC PLUS facility to ensure the product that goes through the dissolution process can be officially verified and tracked.
ISCC PLUS is the global gold standard for sustainable plastics accreditation. It is an internationally recognized organization that certifies recycling processes to ensure a plants' raw materials are what they're claimed to be, that the materials are being recycled, and returned to the consumer market. ISCC PLUS verifies the entire process from beginning to end.
Currently, AmSty customers using the PCR-containing polystyrene are creating products with up to 25 percent recycled content ISCC PLUS allows AmSty and ISCC PLUS certified suppliers and customers to officially claim that percentage in end products. The ISCC PLUS certification included training, on-site visits, and comprehensive audits to qualify AmSty as a recycling source.
With the addition of the Allyn's Point location, five of AmSty's plants are now ISCC PLUS certified. Those include plants in Joliet, Illinois; Cartagena, Colombia; Hanging Rock, Ohio; and St. James, Louisiana. Additionally, Regenyx, a depolymerization recycling facility AmSty shares with Agilyx, is also certified.
This certification is part of our sustainability journey, signifying progress and continued momentum toward developing plastics recycling capabilities across AmSty's footprint. It provides AmSty customers recycled product solutions to help them reach their important sustainability goals.
Dissolution recycling is one more example of how AmSty is living up to its core values of sustainability and environmental responsibility – innovating to protect our planet through a circular economy that reduces the impact plastics have on our environment and landfills.Want to know more? Click here to be part of the movement...
