In keeping with its plan to develop a long-term sustainable model for plastics recycling, AmSty, a leading U.S. based producer of polystyrene, is taking a big step. The company is now using recycled polystyrene, known as recycled styrene monomer (RSM), converted from waste by Agilyx as feedstock for its world-scale styrene production facility in St. James, Louisiana.
This step marks the first time a plastics producer has successfully produced high-purity ASTM styrene from polystyrene waste. AmSty President and Chief Executive Officer Brad Crocker remains optimistic about the recycling process and its future applications. “This is yet another successful milestone in our PolyUsable™ process to ensure no single-use items made from AmSty polystyrene ever need to be landfilled,” he said.
AmSty signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture with Agilyx in November 2018, which is still in-process and is expected to finalize sometime in the second quarter of 2019. The material delivered from Agilyx to the AmSty facility in St. James, Louisiana, is in accordance with an offtake agreement between the two companies. Once the RSM is processed, it will go to an AmSty polystyrene production facility to be converted into polystyrene pellets, the building blocks for both solid and foam products used in food service packaging such as cups, plates, take-home containers and many other innovative products.
Joe Vaillancourt, Chief Executive Officer of Agilyx, said, “This is another major milestone for the advancement of the circular economy. Our partnership with AmSty remains a great example of how we can come together to help change the waste and recycling industry to dramatically improve the recyclability of plastics, particularly polystyrene, with a favorable environmental profile.”