Dow CEO predicts 15% of PE demand met by mechanical recycling by 2050

Materials supplier Dow posted lower sales and profit in the fourth quarter to round off a challenging 2023. Sales were down 10% versus the same quarter in 2022 to $10.6 billion. The company posted losses of $95 million, compared with a profit of $647 million in the same period last year. This was primarily driven by lower prices, according to a company statement.

Chairman and CEO Jim Fitterling said that in the fourth quarter, Dow "continued to advance our strategic, financial and operational priorities in a challenging and dynamic macroeconomic environment.”

“We saw year-over-year volume improvements in the quarter, delivered our goal of $1 billion in targeted cost actions for the year, and took actions to further de-risk our pension plans,” Fitterling added in a Jan. 25 news release. “We also hit a key milestone towards advancing our long-term Decarbonise & Grow strategy with the final investment decision for our Path2Zero project in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, where construction will begin this year.”

In his presentation of the results, Fitterling also gave an update on Dow’s decarbonisation and sustainability roadmap, including the construction start for Fort Saskatchewan, which is planned to become the world’s first ethylene cracker with net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Dow’s CEO predicted that mechanical recycling will account for 15% of global polyethylene (PE) demand by 2050. The remaining 85% will be sourced from chemical recycling, bio-based feedstocks, low-carbon solutions, and traditional fossil fuels, he said during the earnings call.

His presentation shows that the vast majority of the estimated 250-300 million tonnes demand will be met by a mix of traditional and low-carbon fossil, followed by mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and bio-based.

"Our view is that both mechanical recycling and advanced recycling are going to continue to grow," Fitterling said. "There's going to be demand drivers to grow all of those segments."

 Fitterling added that there is ‘solid growth’ in the circular polymers sector, despite higher prices.

"I feel that over time, you're going to see more focus on low-carbon fossil approaches like we're doing with Alberta," Fitterling said. "So how can you make plastics from fossil fuels that have zero CO2 emissions? You're going to see focus on [chemical] recycling and mechanical recycling and all of the above, and we're just going to place bets in different regions by what the market demand dictates."