Across the petrochemical industry, companies are recognizing that building a circular economy for plastics isn’t a solo endeavor — it’s a collective mission. Through strategic partnerships, manufacturers are taking a comprehensive approach to increasing recycling and tackling hard-to-recycle materials across sectors.
Companies are tackling specialized plastic products with unique challenges to collecting, sorting and recycling. We see challenges like this in healthcare plastics, which can be at risk of contamination, or have products made up of multiple materials that can make them difficult to sort and break down. Westlake Chemical, in partnership with Houston Methodist Hospital, launched the “Choose Pink” campaign — Houston’s first healthcare-focused PVC recycling program. By collecting items like masks, saline bags, and oxygen tubing, and transforming them into new products such as exercise mats and cord protectors, Westlake is proving that even specialized plastics can be reintegrated into the circular economy.
More companies are teaming up to find new ways to make products that are designed to be reused or recycled back into themselves — rather than thrown away. One example: Dow’s MobilityScience™ team has partnered with Jaguar Land Rover and Adient to recycle car seat foam. Together, they’ve created a system that takes polyurethane foam from old car seats, recycles it and turns it into brand new foam for new seats — instead of sending it to the landfill. It’s the first time this kind of closed-loop recycling content is expected to be used in automotive production.
Together, these initiatives reflect a broader trend — petrochemical companies are joining forces across sectors to build the infrastructure, technologies and systems needed for a circular economy for plastics. Whether through community engagement, cross-industry innovation or investment in advanced facilities, these partnerships are reshaping how materials flow through society.
“Building a more circular economy for plastics requires more than innovation — it demands partnership. Across our industry, companies are coming together to rethink how materials are collected, sorted, recycled and reused. We’re not just reducing waste — we’re creating systems that keep valuable materials in use and deliver real environmental benefits.” — Rob Benedict, Vice President Midstream and Petrochemicals, AFPM
The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is the leading trade association representing the makers of the fuels that keep us moving, the petrochemicals that are the essential building blocks for modern life, and the midstream companies that get our feedstocks and products where they need to go. We make the products that make life better, safer and more sustainable — we make progress.
