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Blue Polymers opens first recycling plant
Blue Polymers opens first recycling plant
Houston, 18 March (Argus) — Blue Polymers, a joint venture between compounder Ravago and material recovery facility (MRF) operator Republic Services, has opened its first recycled resin plant in Indianapolis. In February, Republic Services finished construction on a secondary sortation plant which adjoins the Blue Polymers building. The Indianapolis, Indiana, plant is expected to produce more than 175mn lb/year of recycled plastic, including food-grade rHDPE, rPP and rPET for use in packaging. HDPE and PP recycled feedstocks will be color-sorted at Republic Services' sortation plant and then sent to Blue Polymers to be compounded and pelletized. Blue Polymers' second recycling plant in Buckeye, Arizona, is still under construction, and a third plant in the US northeast is planned as well. Both will be accompanied by sortation plants operated by Republic Services. By Zach Kluver Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Turkey's Koksan builds $710mn PET plant in China
Turkey's Koksan builds $710mn PET plant in China
Shanghai, 17 March (Argus) — Turkish producer Koksan has started building a $710mn PET project at Yangkou Port in Nantong city, Jiangsu province in March. The project involves a 1mn t/yr PET resin unit, consisting of 800,000 t/yr PET and 200,000 t/yr recycled PET (rPET). Two 200,000 t/yr PET resin production lines will be built in the first phase. By establishing the project at Yangkou Port, the company can fully utilise raw materials such as PTA from Chinese chemicals firm Tongkun's integrated polyester project at Yangkou Port to produce PET sheets. This not only gives Tongkun's PTA project an outlet but also provides cost-effective raw materials for Koksan's project. The project can also leverage the existing inland river port and bulk cargo terminal to source raw materials from Chinese companies such as Sinopec, Sanfangxiang, and Yadong. The Nantong Municipal Government estimates that the Koksan project is expected to achieve annual sales of $2.1bn and generate $52mn in annual tax revenue upon completion. Koksan already planned to invest in China in mid-2024 and it ultimately decided to invest in Nantong's Rudong county, after conducting site evaluations in Dalian city's Changxing Island, Fujian province's Gulei town, and Guangdong province's Huizhou city. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Plastics Europe urges de-escalation in trade tensions
Plastics Europe urges de-escalation in trade tensions
London, 14 March (Argus) — Industry association Plastics Europe has urged a de-escalation in ongoing trade tensions between the EU and the US, following the inclusion of polyethylene (PE) among products proposed by the European Commission for retaliatory tariffs. "The imposition of tariffs, particularly on industrial goods such as plastics, will disrupt supply chains, raise costs for businesses, and negatively impact consumers on both sides of the Atlantic," said Plastics Europe's managing director, Virginia Janssens, on 13 March. "We urge both the EU and U.S. to prioritise diplomatic solutions to avoid escalating trade tensions further." The European Commission on 12 March begun consultations on imposing countermeasures to US tariffs of 25pc on EU and other imports of steel, aluminium and related products. Other products include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density PE (LDPE) and linear LDPE (LLDPE), according to a European Commission document listing the products proposed for retaliatory tariffs. The European Commission did not publish the specific level of proposed tariffs, noting that a formal legal proposal will follow consultation with industry and member states. But a senior EU official noted that "25pc might be a good number". The retaliatory tariffs, if approved by EU member states, will be implemented from 13 April. The US is a key global supplier of PE, with exports totalling around 14.2mn t in 2024. PE exports from the US to the EU in 2024 stood at 2.1mn t, forming around 15pc of the export share. The EU is a net importer of HDPE and LLDPE. This week's developments caught many market participants by surprise. There was no immediate impact on prices as many participants opted for a wait-and-see approach. The European PE market has been grappling with an uncertain demand outlook given weak underlying economic conditions. An imposition of import tariffs could help support domestic European PE production, but there are widespread concerns of these resulting in higher prices for consumer goods and adversely affecting future demand prospects. And higher costs of inputs could further hurt competitiveness of European finished goods in the global markets. Plastics Europe called for "collaborative efforts to resolve this dispute in a manner that protects industry, jobs, and consumers in both the U.S. and Europe." By Sam Hashmi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Dow to share European polyurethanes plan in April
Dow to share European polyurethanes plan in April
London, 13 March (Argus) — US chemicals firm Dow will provide some details about its plans for its European business next month, chief financial officer Jeff Tate said today. The company announced a strategic review of its European polyurethane assets in October, which is due to be completed by mid-2025. The firm will share some decisions in its first-quarter earnings call scheduled for 24 April and more decisions will be shared at the second-quarter earnings call in July, Tate said, promising "incremental updates". Dow's sales volumes in Europe are 20pc lower than pre-Covid, Tate said. But energy costs have risen. "We feel it's prudent to take action around our footprint in Europe. Because we don't see that recovering any time soon," Tate said. The focus will be on Dow's more commoditised products, "particularly those which are more energy intensive", Tate said. That means polyurethanes in particular, and also siloxanes, he said. Olefins and plastics and packaging are not directly under consideration, Tate said, aside from one-off decisions such as the idling of one of its three crackers at Terneuzen in the Netgerlands through delayed maintenance. Prolonged weak consumer demand, geopolitical uncertainty and its effect on energy costs, and a high level of regulation have all affected Europe's global competitiveness in the petrochemicals sector, Tate said. Dow's strategic review is part of a wider pattern in the European petrochemicals industry. LyondellBassell announced a similar review in May 2024 and although it has not yet formally announced any resulting decisions, unions last week agreed a plan for the closure of the Lyondell-operated Maasvlakte POSM unit by 1 October. By Laura Tovey-Fall Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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