Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

We believe that transitioning to a circular economy will reduce resource use and enable a more sustainable future. We are advancing technologies and innovations that will help conserve finite resources and retain their value for as long as possible. By 2030, LyondellBasell aims to produce and market 2 million metric tons of recycled and renewable-based polymers annually. We also support the voluntary commitments of PlasticsEurope, the Polyolefins Circular Economy Platform and the American Chemistry Council to achieve high rates of plastic reuse and recycling.

• PlasticsEurope Goals
  • 60% reuse and recycling of plastic packaging by 2030
  • 100% reuse, recycling or recovery of plastic packaging by 2040
• Polyolefins Circular Economy Platform Commitment
  • Increase the use of recycled post-consumer polyolefin waste in new products to 3 million tons per year by 2025
• American Chemistry Council Goals
  • 100% of plastics packaging is recyclable or recoverable by 2030
  • 100% reuse, recycling or recovery of plastic packaging by 2040

LyondellBasell is advancing mechanical and chemical recycling through partnerships and other collaborations.

We have partnered with SUEZ, a leader in the collection, separation and preparation of waste materials in the Netherlands to provide feedstock for our joint recycling facility, Quality Circular Polymers (QCP) located in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands. QCP uses mechanical recycling to transform post-consumer plastic waste into high-quality polymers that can be used to make new products. The joint business leverages the two partners’ strengths: SUEZ provides expertise in waste materials used as feedstock, while LyondellBasell applies its capabilities in innovative plastic production technology, product and application development, and knowledge of end markets such as consumer goods. QCP is the first-ever collaboration between a leading waste company and a major global plastics producer that has helped several consumer brands contribute to the circular economy. This represents an effective business model that we aim to replicate in other parts of the world.

Chemical or advanced recycling, also known as molecular recycling, is a complementary technology that can help divert certain plastic from landfill which cannot be sustainably recycled by mechanical processes. In collaboration with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, we are developing a proprietary molecular recycling technology, called MoReTec, that uses a catalyst in the pyrolysis process to improve the breakdown of plastic waste. We believe our MoReTec technology will have significant potential because of its lower energy use and more efficient chemical conversion process, which will allow increased commercial scale. During 2019, we screened potential catalyst systems and tested a variety of plastic waste streams. In July 2020, we commissioned a small-scale pilot plant at our site in Ferrara, Italy. We plan to develop optimum process conditions to make the MoReTec technology scalable to a semi-industrial proof-of-concept plant by 2021.