Eastman Provides Chemical Recycling Expertise for Automotive Recycling Program

Eastman is working with the United States Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP) and automotive recycler PADNOS on a concept feasibility study to demonstrate a closed-loop project to recycle automotive industry mixed plastic waste in the supply chain
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USAMP is a subsidiary of the United States Automotive Research Council (USCAR)
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When a car is at the end of its useful life, metals, tires and glass make up 80-90% of the materials that can be recycled through traditional mechanical recycling streams
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The other 10 to 20 percent, known as automotive shedding (ASR), consists of mixed plastics and other non-recycled materials that currently end up in landfills or recycled through waste-to-energy technologies
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Under this initiative, PADNOS will use ASR as a sustainable feedstock for Eastman's molecular recycling process, creating a true circular solution
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The study will also evaluate how Eastman's Carbon Regeneration Technology (CRT), one of two of Eastman's molecular recycling technologies, breaks down the plastic-rich portion of ASR into molecular building blocks
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By recycling these complex plastics in CRTs, Eastman can replace fossil feedstocks and create polymers for new automotive applications without compromising performance
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USAMP sees the potential to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while eliminating a significant portion of the 5 million to 7 million tons of ASR that the U.
S.
generates annually from landfills
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"This 12-month automotive recycling project in partnership with Eastman and PADNOS is part of USAMP's extensive materials research and sustainability program," said USCAR Executive Director Steve Zimmer.
A cost-effective pathway to address the challenges associated with the consumption of ASR back into auto parts, thereby enabling a true industrial cycle is critical
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”

Eastman Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Sustainability Officer Steve Crawford used this as a prime example of how collaboration across the value chain is critical to making material recycling mainstream
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Crawford said: “Our molecular recycling technology is now recycling complex plastic waste on a commercial scale, but technology alone cannot build a circular economy – which requires work across the value chain by multiple players determined to provide sustainable solutions
This is why this project is so exciting
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USCAR member companies - Ford, General Motors and Stellantis are accelerating the design of more sustainable end-of-life solutions
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This project can be a catalyst for the cycle of automotive value streams, addressing the climate and waste plastics problems, and reshape what we think is possible
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”