Nestle and Greenback Recycling Technologies open advanced recycling plant in Cuautla, Mexico, with support from Alliance to End Plastic Waste; plant to use Enval microwave technology to transform flexible packaging plastics into pyrolysis oil

 that uses advanced technology to transform hard-to-recycle plastics and tracks material origins. The plant, which will process the flexible plastic packaging waste of 250,000 people annually, is supported by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and aligns with Greenback's global mission to reduce plastic waste.

The first-of-a-kind recycling plant becomes operational in partnership with Nestlé in Cuautla, Mexico. The advanced recycling technology turns hard-to-recycle plastics circular and tracks the origins of the material.

• The lighthouse project counts with the support of Alliance to End Plastic Waste to advance and scale it.

• The plant will process the annual flexible plastic packaging waste of 250,000 people.

• The outcome of the low emission recycling process is recycled raw material for new food-grade packaging.

Greenback Recycling Technologies (Greenback) opened its advanced recycling plant on 25 May 2023 in Cuautla, Mexico together with Nestlé Mexico. With a global mission to reduce plastic waste, Greenback has already scale out plans in other parts of Mexico, Latin America, and other regions where the same challenge exists.

“I founded Greenback to reduce the environmental impact of the growing amounts of plastic packaging that is not recycled. We have created the first industrial, fully circular value chain for flexible post-consumer packaging. With our voluntary extended producer responsibility programme, the consumer goods companies contract Greenback to pay collectors and sorters to deliver previously worthless plastic waste in exchange for neutralisation certificates,” describes Philippe von Stauffenberg, CEO of Greenback.

As an immediate solution to the environmental problem, Greenback collects the waste and turns it circular. With Enval™ breakthrough microwave-induced technology it transforms flexible plastics into pyrolysis oil, π-Oil™, which can be used for recycled content for new food packaging. The process also allows recycling of another valuable raw material, aluminium, which is present in multi-layered flexible packaging.

Greenback also brings much needed transparency to the waste processing. With its proprietary eco2Veritas™ Circularity Platform it collects key data, such as origins and amounts of processed material. At the end, it delivers a certification on the neutralised waste, and the proof of origin and circularity for the output materials that are incorporated back into the economy.

Nestlé Mexico is the pioneering company partner in the lighthouse project.

“We are proud of this partnership. We know that only by working together across the value chain, we can achieve a real circular economy that contributes to the health, safety and livelihoods of the local communities,” von Stauffenberg adds.

“We are very proud to inaugurate this pyrolysis oil plant that will allow us to spearhead testing new methods to handle post-consumer urban waste in Mexico. It is a well-known fact that the success of packaging materials in the circular economy depends on having a solid collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure and the design of the packaging to be recycled. Today, as we partner with Greenback Recycling Technologies, we take another step in making this a reality,” said Fausto Costa, Executive President of Nestlé México.

Greenback is also supported in this first-of-a-kind project by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste that focuses on advancing and scaling innovative solutions for circularity of plastics worldwide.

“The Greenback team has been able to conceptualise a modular solution that can be co-located with landfills and material recovery facilities to tackle complex and hard-to-recycle, flexible materials. It is the combination that is most exciting to us, as we are looking to find solutions that drive plastics circularity and have the potential to be replicated,“ explains Natalie Stirling-Sanders, Chief Advisor, Head of Americas at the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

For additional information:
Lorena de la Canal Rioseco, Head of Corporate Affairs, lorena.delacanal@greenback.earth
UK +44 737 919 6115, MX +52 554 094 090

Greenback Recycling Technologies (Greenback) is a UK-based advanced recycling company founded in 2018 to bring an immediate solution for the global plastic pollution. With a patented Enval™ microwave-induced recycling process it recycles flexible, multilaminate plastics and turns it to π-Oil™ and recycled aluminium. With eco2Veritas™ digital certification system it tracks the origins of the waste and proves the amount neutralised for brands and CPGs. The decentralised small-scale plants are easy and quick to build to any location with plastic waste problem. For more information, visit greenback.earth

Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company. It is present in 187 countries around the world, and its 300,000 employees are committed to Nestlé’s purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. Nestlé offers a wide portfolio of products and services for people and their pets throughout their lives. Its more than 2,000 brands range from global icons to local favorites. Company performance is driven by its Nutrition, Health and Wellness strategy. Nestlé is based in the Swiss town of Vevey, where it was founded more than 150 years ago. After 90 years in Mexico, Nestlé is also the country’s leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company, with the support of 32 global Research Centers, 17 factories in 7 states and 16 distribution centers generating 13,000 jobs. Please visit www.nestle.com.mx

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (Alliance) is a global non-profit organisation with the mission to end plastic waste in the environment. Its focus is implementing projects and investing in innovative solutions to develop or enhance waste management systems. As of June 2022, its portfolio comprises over 50 projects across 30 countries worldwide. Tackling plastic waste is a complex challenge that requires collective action. Since 2019, the Alliance has convened a global network of industry leaders across the plastics value chain, together with government, civil society, entrepreneurs, and communities to work towards advancing a circular economy for plastic waste. For more information, visit www.endplasticwaste.org