Eastman Invests in Possibilities to Address Climate Change
Eastman is investing in state-of-the-art technology to reduce material waste and repurpose it to produce new products.
Sponsored by: Eastman
Innovation has been at the heart of Eastman’s story since the company’s beginnings more than a century ago.
“Today, we’re innovating for a growing world population of over 10 billion. We must do that in a way that addresses climate change and circularity,” says Brad Lich, Eastman’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer.
Circularity – reducing material waste and repurposing it to produce new products – is core to Eastman’s ongoing growth and development.
As one example, Eastman is scaling up the world’s largest molecular recycling facility in Kingsport, TN, to soon be followed by another plant in France and a third at a yet-to-be-named site in the U.S.
“We are investing $2.25 billion dollars in this new technology to take hard-to-recycle plastics – everything from dairy packaging to shampoo or water bottles – and convert them back into new products, like new bottles, phone cases and medical devices,” Lich says.
Lich says this technology is a complement to mechanical recycling and can take hard-to-recycle materials that currently end up in landfills or incineration.
“This technology brings it down to the molecular level so we can use it again and again. It never ends; if never changes in quality,” he continues. “With the mechanical recycling, you can only do it so many times, but you can do this an infinite number of times. It’s truly circular.”
Besides taking waste out of the environment, Lich says this process also prevents the extraction of more fossil fuels for production.
“Instead of creating new molecules again and again, we’re taking those valuable molecules and putting them back into use,” he explains. “That’s really how we address climate needs, as well as the plastic waste crisis. It’s about giving all those valuable molecules an infinite life. To drive the kind of societal change we’re talking about takes working across the entire ecosystem.”
Lich says partnerships have been key to overcoming skepticism about this and other new technologies.
“For instance, we have a partnership with Food City to create drop-off locations for customers in the Tri-Cities who don’t have access to curbside recycling.”
On a wider scale, he says Pepsi has signed on as a partner for Eastman’s second U.S. plant, and there are other strong partnerships at its location in France.
“Our employees are at the heart of all our innovation, and they are excited about the opportunity to protect the environment and protect the beauty we have in this area,” Lich adds, noting that Eastman has always employed multiple generations of families here.
“We have tremendous pride that Eastman is leading this effort across the globe, doing our part to drive improvement in climate change,” he concludes. “We have the opportunity to show the world what’s possible.”
