Dow and Procter & Gamble to Develop New Recycling Tech for Plastic Waste

MIDLAND, Mich. & CINCINNATI - Dow (NYSE: DOW) and the Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) announced a joint development agreement (JDA) to create a new recycling technology. The vision is to enable efficient conversion of hard-to-recycle plastic packaging into recycled polyethylene with near-virgin quality and a low greenhouse gas emissions footprint.

To create the new technology, the companies will combine their patented technologies and know-how in the dissolution process. The development program will focus on using dissolution technology to recycle a broad range of plastic materials with a focus on polyethylene and targeting post-household plastic waste (especially rigids, flexible and multi-layer packaging, which are harder to recycle).

The technology aims to deliver high quality post-consumer recycled (PCR) polymer with a lower greenhouse gas emissions footprint than fossil-based polyethylene. P&G anticipates using this PCR polymer in their packaging, thereby enabling a path to circularity which helps maximize resource utility and reduces materials treated as waste.

The global partnership between Dow and P&G begins immediately and is expected to run until commercialization.

In addition to the patented technologies, both Dow and P&G bring decades of expertise in materials science, manufacturing capabilities and large-scale supply chain management. These areas of expertise will be important in the development of this new recycling technology that can be deployed at commercial manufacturing scale.

“Dow is committed to transforming plastic waste into circular solutions that can be made into high quality resins demanded by our customers while helping to accelerate a circular economy. We are excited to work with P&G who has similar sustainability goals and commitment to innovation,” said Dave Parrillo, vice president for Research & Development, Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics and Hydrocarbons.

"Our partnership with Dow helps P&G advance our objective to scale industry solutions as we help create a circular future where materials are recycled and remade instead of becoming waste," added Lee Ellen Drechsler, senior vice president of Corporate Research and Development at Procter & Gamble.

Both Dow and P&G have bold ambitions to accelerate circularity. Dow has a sustainability target to Transform the Waste and commercialize three million metric tons of circular and renewable solutions by 2030, and P&G's vision is to use 100% consumer packaging designed to be recycled or reusable by 2030.
 

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) is one of the world’s leading materials science companies, serving customers in high-growth markets such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Our global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation, leading business positions and commitment to sustainability enable us to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. We operate manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employ approximately 35,900 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $45 billion in 2023. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. Learn more about us and our ambition to be the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world by visiting www.dow.com.