Amcor, Mondelēz International and Licella partner to promote circular economy

Amcor and Mondelēz International, Inc, The Natural Confectionery Company, Pascall and others are investing in advanced recycling technology company Licella to help end plastic waste.

The investments are designed to help Licella progress construction of an advanced recycling facility in Australia. Licella will use its Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR) technology to recycle end-of-life plastic back into a crude oil substitute suitable to produce new food-grade plastic packaging.

The advanced hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology uses hot, pressurised water to continuously recycle end-of-life plastic that would otherwise be sent to a landfill. The new Australian facility, called Advanced Recycling Victoria, will initially process about 20,000 tons per year of end-of-life plastic, with plans to scale up to 120,000 tons per year. Through Amcor, Mondelēz International will have access to recycled content from this site to meet much of its Australian soft plastic packaging needs, significantly reducing its need for virgin plastic in Australia.

While plastic plays an important part in the security, quality, protection and preservation of food products, there is a gap in sustainable local recycling solutions, said Christine Montenegro McGrath, senior vice president and Chief Global Impact and Sustainability Officer at Mondelēz International.

“Our packaging strategy is focused on using less packaging, better packaging and helping to build better systems,” McGrath said. “This investment brings together multiple stakeholders in the supply chain to scale the infrastructure and technology needed to help create a more sustainable future for plastics and is part of our longer-term focus on working toward our goal of net-zero packaging waste by supporting circular economies.”

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