Developing circular value chains: SEE


01/20/2023


Sealed Air (SEE) is leading the industry in developing circular value chains that reduce waste, enable material recovery, and reduce reliance on natural resources. To achieve this level of circularity, investments and collaborations must be made that present opportunities to accelerate the time to market of scalable solutions while leveraging innovation to create a sustainable competitive advantage.

SEE invested $5 million in the Circular Plastics Fund of Closed Loop Partners to advance plastic recovery and recycling in the United States and Canada. The investment brings the fund closer to its $100 million goal of advancing scalable recycling technologies, equipment upgrades, and infrastructure solutions. "SEE's investment in the Closed Loop Circular Plastics Fund demonstrates their commitment to be a part of the solution to plastic waste, marking a critical step in building a waste-free future for the plastics and packaging industry.

“Their scale and deep expertise in the space allow us to extend our reach even further and encourage other companies to invest more capital to scale critical sustainable solutions,” said Ron Gonen, founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners.

Sims Municipal Recycling was acquired by a consortium of investors led by Closed Loop Partners in 2022. (SMR). The acquisition is intended to modernise SMR's circular economy infrastructure and service in the New York-New Jersey metro region and Florida. The Circular Plastics Fund made its first investment with this.

Plastic Energy SEE made an equity investment in Plastic Energy, an industry leader in advanced recycling technology, in 2020 to drive materials circularity and expand packaging recyclability. The research collaboration is ongoing, and it has already resulted in a successful closed-loop demonstration that recycled flexible plastics collected from store drop-off locations into new food packaging.

A collaboration between SEE, ExxonMobil, and grocery retail group Ahold Delhaize USA is paving the way for the packaging industry to protect perishable foods while creating a low-carbon, circular economy. These industry leaders are collaborating across the value chain to develop new food-grade packaging by collecting and recycling used flexible plastics. This cutting-edge recycling initiative shows how high-performance packaging materials can be designed to be remade. The project resulted in certified circular resins, which were used to create new packaging for fresh poultry.

“We’re proud to work with SEE and ExxonMobil on this collaboration, which has the potential to radically change the way retailers and manufacturers leverage food-grade recycled plastics as a key means of keeping plastics out of landfills,” said Brittni Furrow, vice president health and sustainability for Ahold Delhaize USA. “We’re eager to learn from this work and apply the learnings to advance our own plastics ambitions, but also advance these efforts broadly, helping to ensure a better tomorrow for our planet.”

Cyclyx
As a member of its consortium, SEE is collaborating with Cyclyx, a post-use plastic feedstock manager. SEE will collaborate with Cyclyx to increase material recovery through custom takeback programmes, allowing for greater amounts of recycled content to be used in future packaging solutions. As a member of Cyclyx's executive advisory board, Ron Cotterman, SEE's vice president of sustainability innovation and strategy, shares his industry knowledge and expertise.

“SEE’s commitment to advancing a circular economy for plastic and dedication to helping its customers to lower their carbon footprints are in line with the mission of everything that Cyclyx is trying to do,” said Joe Vaillancourt, CEO of Cyclyx.

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