Midea, GER and INEOS Styrolution collaborate to create the first large scale home appliance closed-loop circular economy system in the world

• Successful validation of INEOS Styrolution’s ABS ECO grades for use in various MIDEA’s home appliances
• Milestone towards achieving the first large scale home appliance closed-loop circular economy system in the world

INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has today announced that its ABS ECO grades, manufactured from post-consumer recycled (PCR) ABS[1] produced by GER[2], have been successfully validated by Midea for its range of sustainable household appliances, including air conditioners, refrigerators and water dispensers.

Established in 1968 and headquartered in Southern China, Midea is the global leader for household appliances and air conditioners, owning the most comprehensive white goods portfolio; while GER is a world-leading waste recycling enterprise based in China’s Jiangxi province.

At a recent event held at their site located in Foshan, China, Midea demonstrated the production of the pilot product using the new recycled material provided by INEOS Styrolution and was impressed with the ease of processing and the quality of the final product.

This first step is an important milestone for the establishment of a closed-loop circular economy system, by which INEOS Styrolution will produce ABS ECO and PS ECO grades using Midea’s products at their end-of-life, after being dismantled and recycled by GER. These ABS ECO and PS ECO grades, specially tailored made for Midea, will then be used as a drop-in solution to manufacture Midea’s ECO home appliances.

The next steps are for Midea, GER and INEOS Styrolution to validate the use of PS ECO grades on a commercial scale at Midea’s production facilities, finalising an integrated supply chain solution starting from Midea’s finished goods, to recycling after their end-of-life, and turning them into PS ECO and ABS ECO grades exclusively for Midea.

Mr Durante Lin, Director of Systems and Resources, Midea Group Supply Chain Management, says, “As one of the world’s leading home appliance producers, Midea has been investing into R&D for innovative and sustainable materials to significantly increase PCR content within the next five years. With the successful commercialisation of INEOS Styrolution’s ABS ECO grades for our household appliances, we have set a new benchmark in the circular economy for the industry and a step closer to realising our goal in creating the first large-scale home appliance closed-loop circular economy system in the world.”

“We are really excited to be able to collaborate with such an innovative and creative company like Midea,” comments Alexandre Audouard, Vice President Standard Polymers Asia-Pacific, INEOS Styrolution. “Midea shares our passion for sustainability and we are fully committed to providing high quality products and sustainable solutions to help them achieve their sustainability ambitions.”

[1] ABS: Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

[2] Refer to press release: http://www.ineos-styrolution.com/news/INEOS-Styrolution-advances-Chinas-circular-economy-target-through-collaboration-with-GER-to-produce-Terluran-ECO-gp-22