A product’s end-of-life can mark the beginning of a new life cycle. This is the core principle of a circular economy, where materials are continuously reused, reducing waste and preventing it from ending up in landfills.
Innovative biobased materials like Luminy® PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) play a key role in keeping resources in the recycling loop. Luminy® PLA can be transformed back into feedstock through mechanical and advanced recycling methods, resulting in Luminy® rPLA, which retains the same certified characteristics as the original. This enables endless product life cycles, contributing to a truly circular plastic economy.
The need to rethink recycling has never been more urgent. If current plastic production and waste management trends continue, an estimated 12,000 million tonnes of plastic waste could end up in landfills, oceans, and rivers by 2050 (Geyer, Jambeck, & Law, 2017). To prevent this, we must focus on reducing, reusing, and recycling materials, and advancing innovations in plastic end-of-life solutions.
By choosing biobased plastics like Luminy® PLA, we can shift away from fossil carbon and embrace sustainable, biobased resources, promoting a healthier consumer cycle and helping create a waste-free future.
A recent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of recycled Luminy® PLA highlights the environmental benefits of advanced recycling over producing PLA from virgin feedstock. Specifically, the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of Luminy® 30% rPLA, factoring in its biogenic carbon content, is just 0.19 kgCO₂/kg of PLA, compared to 0.51 kgCO₂/kg of virgin Luminy® PLA.
The LCA assessed seven environmental impact categories, including GWP, water consumption, and land use. Results demonstrated that Luminy® PLA with 20% and 30% recycled content consistently reduced impacts across these categories. This underscores the sustainability benefits of recycling PLA and showcases how this innovative process offers advantages over traditional virgin production methods.
Recycling PLA not only reduces emissions but also extends the storage of biogenic carbon, which originates from the atmosphere. By incorporating 30% recycled PLA, the GWP is reduced by an impressive 300 kgCO₂/tPLA compared to virgin PLA—making a significant contribution to global climate targets and advancing a circular economy.
At TotalEnergies Corbion, we champion PLA recycling as a key part of the circular economy. By partnering with chemical and mechanical recyclers, we are working to ensure Luminy® PLA remains a valuable resource throughout its life cycle.
Our white paper, Stay in the Cycle: Rethinking Recycling with PLA Bioplastics, explores how chemical recycling of PLA via hydrolysis enables closed-loop PLA recycling, producing high-quality, food-contact-approved recycled PLA resin.
Both mechanical recycling and advanced technologies efficiently turn PLA back into PLA, extending its lifecycle. Unlike traditional plastics, recycling biobased PLA helps store biogenic carbon, delaying its release and reducing environmental impact.
By prioritizing sustainable PLA waste management, we cut emissions linked to virgin PLA manufacturing, lowering Global Warming Potential (GWP) and promoting a more sustainable plastic economy.
Luminy® PLA delivers the right performance in a diverse range of industries like fresh food packaging, consumer goods, fibers, food serviceware, automotive components, and 3D printing.
Our scientists and experts are always on call. We work alongside your team to help build new applications and ensure a smooth transition to sustainable solutions.
Recycled Luminy® PLA grades, or as we call it rPLA, are commercially available. Certified by SCS Global Services, Luminy® rPLA can reduce your product’s carbon footprint without compromising on look, functionality, or durability.
The recycled content is sourced from a mix of post- and pre-consumer recycled material and allocated via a mass balance method. Luminy® rPLA grades can be used in any place virgin PLA is used, including food contact applications.
