Eastman supports beauty industry nonprofit in efforts to advance circularity of beauty packaging
Pact Collective offers both an in-store collection program and a mail-back program for hard-to-recycle beauty packaging. (Credit: Content Pixie on Unsplash)
Today, Eastman announced it has joined the nonprofit membership organization Pact Collective. Pact is made up of beauty industry stakeholders focused on improving the end of life of beauty packaging and developing solutions that drive toward circularity for the industry. Eastman and Pact will work together to leverage Eastman’s molecular recycling technologies to recycle beauty packaging that can’t be mechanically recycled and would otherwise end up in landfills or incinerated.
“We are thrilled to join Pact Collective. We share its goal of ending packaging waste in the beauty industry and are excited to explore opportunities to leverage our molecular recycling technologies to grow beauty-to-beauty recycling,” said Tara Cary, Eastman cosmetics packaging segment manager. “The recycling challenges for the beauty industry are complex. Eastman is committed to working with the industry on solutions to achieve a more sustainable future. Pact Collective is positioned to bring participants in the value chain together to achieve real results.”
Pact Collective offers both an in-store collection program and a mail-back program for hard-to-recycle beauty packaging. Pact saw Eastman as a valuable partner because of its innovative molecular recycling technologies that offer the ability to recycle materials that the industry can use again in packaging.
“Pact identifies the highest and best use for the materials we collect — always starting with mechanical recycling when that is an option. What we like about Eastman’s technology is that it is true material-to-material recycling, not waste-to-fuel or energy,” said Pact co-founder Mia Davis. “Eastman can help us keep plastic material in circulation, creating more recycled content that can be used in future beauty packaging and other items.”
Eastman is a pioneer in molecular recycling — innovative technologies that source hard-to-recycle plastic waste rather than fossil-based feedstocks to create high-performance materials. These technologies divert plastic waste from landfills, give it new life and reduce greenhouse gas emissions relative to traditional production.
Over the past year and a half, Eastman has introduced two portfolios of sustainable materials for cosmetic packaging using its molecular recycling technologies — Eastman Cristal Renew resins with high levels of certified recycled content and Eastman Cristal One Renew resins that offer brands recycled content plus recyclability in the municipal recycle stream. As an important next step in building the circular economy, Eastman is exploring strategic take-back programs in many of the markets it serves to create “small, closed loops” like beauty-beauty recycled packaging.
Source: Company Press Release