Dow: Mattress recycling a reality as new RENUVA™ plant starts up

On September 24, 2021, Dow Polyurethanes and Orrion Chemicals Orgaform, a Dow business unit, together with Eco-mobilier, H&S Anlagentechnik and The Vita Group, launched a pioneering mattress recycling plant as part of the RENUVA™ program
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Old mattresses made from polyurethane foam will now be recycled, dismantled and chemically recycled to create new polyols, the key starting material for the production of polyurethane
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This RENUVA™ polyol is designed for a variety of applications including mattresses
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The unveiling is an important step in the recovery and recycling of polyurethane foam and a major step towards closing the cycle of end-of-life mattresses
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At full capacity, the plant will process up to 200,000 mattresses a year to address the growing problem of mattress waste
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Marie Buy, EMEA Sustainability Leader for Dow Polyurethanes commented: "We are incredibly proud of the unveiling of this facility
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By doing so, we are answering the question: what can be done with recycled polyurethane foam
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This is part of Dow's strong commitment to providing solutions that help close the loop and protect our environment
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With RENUVA™ now shifting its focus to the production stage and making the first foams using the new polyols, we at Dow The sustainability journey of our polyurethane continues
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We are actively exploring the future possibilities and potential applications of recycled materials
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This is truly a new beginning
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The RENUVA™ Mattress Recycling Plant is the result of a strong collaboration between Dow and key players throughout the mattress lifecycle: chemical innovator Orrion Chemicals Orgaform, mattress collection specialist Eco-Mobilier, simple solutions provider H&S Anlagentechnik and foam maker The Vita Group
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Christian Siest, President of Orrion Chemicals Orgaform, commented: "This is truly a first for our company and for France
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We have long been committed to creating more sustainable solutions and have long recognized the need for industry to be the solution.
Part
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Our factory uses a chemical recycling process that breaks down and converts polyurethane foam into novel single products
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The benefit of this is versatility; we can process any mattress foam, and the RENUVA™ polyol formulation itself can also be used for different The application is tailor-made
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Dominique Mignon, president of Eco-Mobilier, said: “Our goal is to ensure the quality of the material collected and delivered to RENUVA so that we can keep our promise to close the loop
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As previously announced, flexible polyurethane foam solutions provider Weta Group will use RENUVA™ polyols to manufacture its award-winning Orbis flexible foam, providing a more sustainable product for the bedding market
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“Consumer attitudes have changed significantly, with an increasing focus on making sustainable choices
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We have seen strong interest in Orbis foam from customers across Europe, as well as in RENUVA™ technology, which is a great addition to our The product line presents exciting opportunities
,” commented Mark Lewis, Group Operations and Projects Director, Vita.
“For over 50 years, Vita has recycled or rebonded pre-consumer foam scraps into materials suitable for a range of products such as Underlayment for floors
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Our partnership with Dow takes our sustainability vision to the next level, and we are very proud and excited to play our part in driving this groundbreaking innovation
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”