Eastman, Dentis ink feedstock agreement for Normandy chemical recycling site

Eastman has signed a plastic waste feedstock agreement with Italy-based Dentis Group for its depolymerisation plant in Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine, Normandy, France.

Dentis Group is an Italian multinational company specialising in the recovery and mechanical recycling of PET packaging waste. Through its mechanical recycling sites in France (Nord Pal Plast SA), Spain (PET Compañía Para su Reciclado) and Italy (Dentis Recycling Italy Srl), Dentis will provide 30,000 tonnes of rejected PET post-consumer waste to Eastman per year.

Eastman’s Normandy facility is set to become the world’s largest depolymerisation plant. The US-based company chose France as a strategic location as the region set itself apart as the leader of PET recycling in Europe. Apart from Eastman, Loop Industries and Carbios have also announced plans for PET chemical recycling facilities in France.  

Those announcements have made mechanical recyclers nervous over the potential competition over feedstock. However, the partnership between Eastman and Dentis illustrates how both technologies can complement each other, the partners said in a statement.

"We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with Eastman since our group is strongly committed to promoting a continuous transition from a linear to a circular economy in the packaging market," said Corrado Dentis, Dentis/Nord Pal Plast's CEO. "This partnership contributes to create a standing valuable platform towards PET waste reduction making mechanical and chemical recycling effectively complementary towards the achievements in European Plastic recycling rates."

The facility is being built in two phases, with a combined capacity of 200,000 tonnes of hard-to-recycle polyester waste annually. Phase 1 of the project is expected to be mechanically complete in 2026 and process 100,000 tonnes. Phase 2 is expected to be completed by 2030.