SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Leading recycler, Rumpke Waste and Recycling has partnered with Eastman in a bid to address global plastic waste menace.

According to the partnership agreement, Rumpke will collect and sort hard-to-recycle and colored PET packaging waste, which in turn will be provided as feedstock to Eastman’s molecular recycling process. Eastman will make use of their molecular recycling technology to turn the waste stream into virgin quality polyesters.

Currently, colored and opaque PET is used in various applications, including personal care and cosmetic packaging, detergent and soap packaging and various dairy and food packaging. These are largely unaccepted in today’s recycling stream. The new partnership will provide circularity to many of these applications.

The innovative processing capabilities of Rumpke coupled with Eastman’s molecular recycling technology will help prevent large volumes of these wastes ending up being incinerated or thrown into landfills.

Brad Lich, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Eastman noted that both the companies are committed to innovative approaches in reducing plastic waste. The company’s Kingsport, Tennessee material-to-material molecular recycling facility is designed to handle around 110,000 metric tons of hard-to-recycle plastic waste every year, he added.