LyondellBasell and Suez plan to integrate Tivaco into their 50/50 plastics recycling joint venture, Quality Circular Polymers

LyondellBasell SUEZ

Plastics recycling company Tivaco operates a facility featuring five production lines. (Credit: LyondellBasell Industries)

Chemical firm LyondellBasell and French-based utility company Suez have jointly acquired Tivaco, a Belgium-based plastics recycling company.

Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

The firms plan to integrate Tivaco into their 50/50 plastics recycling joint venture, Quality Circular Polymers (QCP).

Tivaco operates a facility featuring five production lines with a combined capacity of about 22,000 metric tonnes of recycled plastic per year.

Suez and LyondellBasell expect the move to increase QCP’s capacity to produce recycled materials to approximately 55,000 tonnes per year.

LyondellBasell Europe olefins & polyolefins senior vice-president Richard Roudeix said: “This latest investment in QCP supports LyondellBasell’s ambition to produce and market two million tonnes per year of recycled and renewable source-based polymers by 2030.

“Extending the plastics lifecycle through recovery, recycling and reuse not only eliminates waste but also produces a product with a lower CO2 footprint.

“This innovative approach is key to unlocking additional value from existing plastics while addressing brand owners’ needs for sustainable products.”

QCP, which aims to end plastic waste in the environment, leverages the Suez’s technology solutions in sorting and recycling to improve the preparation of recovered materials as well as LyondellBasell’s plastic production technology and experience in product development.

Suez and LyondellBasell are members of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a non-profit organisation committed to ending plastic waste in the environment.

Suez Group COO Jean-Marc Boursier said: “With the new acquisition, we will together speed up the use of quality circular polymers in Europe and support industrial manufacturers’ efforts to reach their environmental targets.”

In October this year, LyondellBasell and Sasol have formed a 50/50 joint venture (JV), known as Louisiana Integrated PolyEthylene JV.