Like pieces of the puzzle, different modes of recycling, sustainable sourcing and waste collection come together to form a complete picture of circularity for plastics.
Innovation has opened a multi-pronged approach to recycle all types of plastics, unlocking a more sustainable future for the essential materials that make our lives better. AmSty is committed to innovative solutions that support circularity and we believe that each type of recycling plays a role to ensure our industry is supporting sustainable production patterns.
Key Circularity Components:
- Mechanical Recycling. Mechanical recycling has been the industry standard for more than 50 years. Through this process, plastic waste is recovered, sorted and reprocessed into new materials through shredding, melting and pelletizing. Mechanical recycling has been an integral part of AmSty's operations since 2014 and will continue to be essential to achieving our vision of circularity.
- Advanced Recycling. Advanced recycling is also known as chemical recycling through mass balance. In this process, plastics are broken down to their molecular building blocks. This allows us to recreate virgin-quality materials from used plastics, enabling true circularity. It's a game-changer for the plastics industry and part of our sustainability strategy. The U.S. Plastics Pact recently released a position paper that affirmed the role of advanced recycling in a circular economy.
Learn more about advanced recycling
- Dissolution Recycling. Dissolution recycling is type of advanced recycling that uses solvents to dissolve specific polymers from mixed or contaminated waste. AmSty completed a five-year pilot project with Regenyx, which demonstrated that dissolution recycling is effective for polystyrene.
- Sustainable Sourcing. Developing feedstock with components such as renewable bio sources or recycled materials is another piece of the puzzle to improving plastic's sustainability.
- Recycling Access. We all have a role to play in the circular economy and post-consumer recycling is an important part of the big picture. AmSty is a founding member of the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance, an industry-wide coalition committed to promoting circularity for polystyrene. A key part of our work with PSRA is to increase access to recycling and boost recycling rates. One in three Americans already have access to recycle polystyrene and we're working to expand that capacity.
As a pioneer in sustainable product solutions, we deliver PolyRenew® Styrene and PolyRenew® Polystyrene products produced from recycled or sustainable raw materials and certified by ISCC Plus.
By leveraging a blend of the technologies available we can advance toward the vision of a circular future where plastics are endlessly reusable and environmentally responsible.