Eastman to provide PepsiCo with recycled PET

As it looks to build its third chemical recycling facility in the U.S., Eastman is forging partnerships with PepsiCo and P&G to receive its processed PET. | Postmodern Studio/Shutterstock

Chemical recycler Eastman will be supplying PepsiCo with processed PET under a new offtake agreement.

Material will come from Eastman's third planned PET chemical recycling facility in the U.S., the location of which has not yet been announced, according to a report from energy market analysis firm ICIS, which cited Eastman's third quarter earnings information.

Eastman did not provide exact volumes but noted the facility will come on-line by the end of 2026.

"Eastman did confirm that the third methanolysis facility will have a planned input capacity of 160,000 tonnes/year of hard to recycle PET waste and a planned output capacity of over 150,000 tonnes/year," the ICIS report stated.

Eastman unveiled its methanolysis process in 2019, which targets hard-to-recycle plastics by reducing them to their component monomers using methanol at fairly high temperatures.

Eastman's Q3 prepared remarks called the agreement "an important milestone for Eastman's circular economy platform."

"We are looking forward to making progress on this and our other two molecular recycling projects in the coming quarters as we continue to prove to the world what is possible," the statement said.

The company's Kingsport, Tenn. facility will be finished at the end of the first quarter of 2023, the statement said, and its Port-Jerome-sur-Seine, France facility will be operational by 2025. Eastman has a feedstock supply agreement with InterZero for the French facility. Several other companies, including P&G, have said they will use Eastman's material.