NESTE, BOREALIS, UPONOR, WASTEWISE GROUP ENABLE CHEMICAL RECYCLING OF HARD-TO-RECYCLE PLASTIC WASTE INTO NEW HIGH-QUALITY PLASTIC PIPES

NESTE, BOREALIS, UPONOR, WASTEWISE GROUP ENABLE CHEMICAL RECYCLING OF HARD-TO-RECYCLE PLASTIC WASTE INTO NEW HIGH-QUALITY PLASTIC PIPES

Neste, Borealis, Uponor, and Wastewise have teamed up to produce pipes made of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) using chemically recycled post-industrial waste plastic from PEX pipe production. The process involves using Wastewise's pyrolysis-based chemical recycling technology to liquefy industrial waste from Uponor's PEX pipe production, creating an oil-like recycled intermediate that is upgraded into high-quality drop-in feedstock for the production of new polymers. The recycled material is then polymerized into polyethylene and used to create new PEX pipe systems by Uponor. The entire value chain is traceable via ISCC PLUS certified mass-balancing. The project is a blueprint for circular value chains for polymers via chemically recycling, demonstrating that recycling of PEX is possible via chemical recycling.