Amcor drives progress on advanced recycling materials

Amcor has signed a five-year deal with ExxonMobil to purchase certified-circular polyethylene material in support of its target to achieve 30 per cent recycled material across its portfolio by 2030. The volume of material will increase incrementally each year and is expected to reach 100,000 metric tons annually at the end of the five-year period.

Amcor drives progress on advanced recycling materials

Made possible by ExxonMobil’s Exxtend technology for advanced recycling, Amcor intends to leverage this material across its global portfolio, with a particular focus on the healthcare and food industries, which are required to meet stringent safety requirements for recycled plastic. The agreement expands upon Amcor’s initial purchase of certified-circular polyethylene material from ExxonMobil earlier this year.

The certified-circular polyethylene material will be sourced from ExxonMobil’s facility in Baytown, Texas, which, upon start-up later this year, will be one of North America’s largest advanced plastic waste recycling facilities, with a capacity to recycle 30,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year.

Ron Delia, CEO at Amcor, said: ‘We are committed to a future of more sustainable packaging and are excited to strengthen our ability to meet increasing customer demand for recycled content. We’re already working with major brands to support their sustainability ambitions and look forward to offering this innovative content across our global portfolio.’

Michael Zamora, senior vice president of product solutions at ExxonMobil, added: ‘Our expanded commitment will make our Exxtend technology for advanced recycling available to even more of Amcor’s customers across the globe, and represents an important step towards reaching our shared goal of helping to increase the amount of plastic waste that’s recycled.’

Amcor continues to make progress on its pledge to make all products recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025, with 74 percent of total production by weight already designed to be recycled.

Then company is already delivering a variety of technologies containing recycled content to customers around the world, including Mondelez International which has made the switch to 30 percent food-grade recycled packaging for its Cadbury Dairy Milk, Caramilk and Old Gold family blocks in Australia. 

Just a few weeks ago Amcor also released the 2022 Sustainability Report, detailing continued progress against key sustainability metrics and announcing an enhanced target to achieve 30 percent recycled content across its portfolio by the end of the decade.

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