“Symphony of Collaboration” is the motto that specialty chemical company Clariant will use to tackle the challenge of plastic pollution to create a more sustainable plastics industry.

At K 2019, Clariant will shine a light on collaborative sustainability projects and the products behind them, supporting the development of solutions that will be adopted in the market. This includes the launch of a major new company-wide initiative specifically focused on plastics’ recycling. It aims to change the current take-make-dispose consumer attitude, moving towards a circular economy for post-consumer and post-industrial plastic.

One important partnership has already delivered some breakthrough results. Together with the Finnish oil refining company, Neste, which gives fat residues and discarded cooking oils a second life, Clariant has been exploring opportunities to use renewable hydrocarbons derived from this waste.

In line with making recycling a viable option, Clariant will launch its new masterbatch for PET destined for the food and beverage market. The patented oxygen scavenger is based on a new molecule that goes beyond existing solutions for PET in protecting content shelf life and taste. It offers the potential to address several challenges for packaging producers in one solution.

The Symphony of Collaboration will continue to open dialogs, develop and deploy projects that minimize and manage plastic waste and promote plastic post-use solutions, helping to turn brand owners’ and manufacturers’ sustainability commitments into achievable goals.

“Clariant has been providing solutions to reduce the use of plastics, extend their lifetime to enable reuse, and supporting recycling for years. But we’ve learned from experience that the wider problem can’t be solved at an individual company level. It’s a system problem and collaboration is key.” – Richard Haldimann, Head of Innovation Excellence and Business Incubator