With over 400 metric tons of plastic waste predicted worldwide by 2040, several governments are beginning to work on initiatives to tackle global plastic waste. On January 17, President Emmanuel Macron announced plans alongside US-based speciality materials company Eastman to invest $1 billion in a new molecular recycling facility to tackle plastic pollution in France. The news arrives as Eastman becomes the largest investor at this year's “Choose France” event, aiming to attract foreign funding to the country.

The material-to-material recycling facility will be the biggest in France, with the ability to fill the Stade de France football stadium twice over while producing virgin-quality materials with a significantly lower carbon footprint than the original product. Using polyester renewal technology, which can process up to 160,000 metric tons of "hard-to-recycle" plastic per year, materials that would otherwise be burnt or sent to landfills will now be fully recycled.

The multiphase facility consists of units that will prepare mixed plastic waste for recycling and methanolysis, a chemical pathway for depolymerizing PET plastic waste. The innovation intends to enable France to sustain a leadership role in the circular economy. The advanced process and applications present in the center will advance alternative recycling methods and avoid excessive waste, leaving fossil feedstock in the ground. The center is expected to be fully functioning by 2025, creating direct employment for 350 people, and indirectly creating 1,500 jobs in recycling, energy, and infrastructure.

LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics, The Estée Lauder Companies, Clarins, Procter & Gamble, L'Oréal, and Danone are among the major worldwide brands that have signed letters of intent for future supply arrangements with Eastman. Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French Delegate Minister for Industry, stated, "Eastman's world-scale project will allow France to position itself as a European leader in new technologies for recycling and recovering plastic waste. We are giving ourselves the means to achieve our ambitions in terms of ecological transition while creating sustainable jobs in manufacturing, infrastructure, and energy.”

The collaboration is a key milestone for Eastman, and the company hopes to continue their work to tackle plastic waste through government incentives in the near future.