Dow and Luhai collaborate on recycling

DOW and Luhai, an integrated waste management company located in Xiamen, China, announced their collaboration to give plastics waste collected by Luhai a second life, thereby increasing the circularity of plastics in China. The agreement is in line with Dow’s new sustainability targets to Stop the Waste by enabling one million metric tonnes of plastic to be collected, reused or recycled through its direct actions and partnerships by 2030.

Aside from its long history of recycling beverage cartons, Luhai’s waste management operation is focused on collecting and recycling various kinds of post-consumer plastics from waste collected in China. They are currently actively collecting plastic waste from local communities in Xiamen city in Fujian province, with plans to expand to other cities across the country.

Through this strategic partnership, Dow will use its expertise in materials science and application development to create new circular plastic solutions for the Asia Pacific market with from the plastic waste collected by Luhai.

“Plastic waste is one of the most important environmental concerns in Asia, however we can solve this important issue as waste plastic is a valuable resource that can be transformed into new products.  We are aggressively tackling the issue by joining efforts with partners to create new applications and value-add to this important material,” said Bambang Candra, Asia Pacific commercial vice president for Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics. “We are delighted to have Luhai as our recycling partner as we make significant progress toward achieving our shared vision to close the plastics waste management loop and affect much needed change together.”

Dow’s goal is to divert plastic waste from the environment and protect the ecosystems that local communities depend on. With this collaboration, Dow aims to demonstrate the value of recycled plastics by putting them to use in different packaging applications and ultimately, increase the collection and recycling of post-consumer plastics in the local communities.

“As a pioneer in the waste recycling sector in China for twenty years, we are committed to turning plastic wastes into high-value products and enabling the waste management value chain to give plastics a second life, thus accelerating the development of China’s “Zero Waste” city,” said Jennifer Jiang, President, Luhai. “We are pleased to partner with Dow to explore using plastic waste in innovative ways as a long-term environmentally friendly solution for our industry while we further our sustainability objectives.”

Partnering with organisations along the value chain that are already in the waste management and recycling business is key to advancing a circular economy for plastics. By working together with Luhai, Dow strives to help reduce plastic waste in China by giving new end-of-life use to plastics that would otherwise have ended up in the environment or landfill.