LyondellBasell (LYB) has announced an investment in recycling of automotive and white good appliance parts. The Houston-headquartered materials company is investing in a closed-loop recycling centre in Lich, Germany.
The investment will add new sorting and recycling technology to an existing recycling hub in Lich, a town north of Frankfurt. At the time of publication, LYB did not disclose the name of the Lich facility.
The revamped recycling hub is expected to reach commercial scale in the fourth quarter of 2024, LYB said in a statement.
The facility will process waste from durable goods such as automotive and white good appliance parts. LYB will mechanically recycle these parts into high-quality feedstock for its CirculenRecover range of sustainable polymers. The process involves stripping parts of any paint and removing metal and other additives.
“These efforts are unlocking new ways of recycling durable goods into new materials for high-quality applications,” said Frank Nöltgen, vice president of advanced polymer solutions Europe at LYB. “By investing in sorting, recycling and the development of proprietary recycling technologies, we are taking significant steps towards a sustainable future.”
LYB will incorporate the recyclates into the same applications in the automotive and white goods sectors, closing the loop on these materials. End products with recycled content will include structural parts, interior components, and visible applications.
Since the European Commission updated its Directive on end-of-life vehicles, setting a 25% recycled plastic mandate for vehicles placed on the market from July 2023, automotive brands and members of the plastic industry value chain have accelerated their efforts to transition to a circular economy for automotive parts. Dow, Borealis, Covestro, and Aimplas, for example, have all announced projects to increase the use of recycled materials in the automotive industry. Audi has recently started mass production of car grilles with recycled plastic.
“We are excited to support automotive and durable white goods manufacturers in achieving their sustainability targets,” added Erik Licht, director new business development of advanced polymer solutions Europe at LYB. “This closed-loop preparation centre ensures that valuable plastic materials are kept in circulation, reducing reliance on virgin resources and enabling products with a lower carbon footprint compared to virgin products,” he added.
This announcement follows LYB’s acquisition of Germany-based plastics recycler APK in late August. This April, LYB also announced plans to build an integrated plastic waste sorting facility in Knapsack, Germany. The hub is expected to combine various sorting and recycling operations and will produce feedstock for LyondellBasell’s mechanical and chemical recycling projects in Geleen, the Netherlands, and Wesseling, Germany.
LYB will hold the foundation stone laying ceremony for its Wesseling chemical recycling site next week on Sept. 19.