Grocery and retail bags often get used for more than getting purchases from store to home. At the LyondellBasell Louisiana Integrated PolyEthylene plant in Westlake, the equivalent of 52,000 plastic bags were used to make a 52,000 square-yard parking lot for employees.

The project utilized 8,000 pounds of  LyondellBasell CirculenRecover polymers, made from plastic waste using a mechanical recycling process.  The asphalt project is an example of LyondellBasell’s commitment to end plastic waste in the  environment that would otherwise end up in landfills or incineration.

“We believe ending plastic in the environment is a critical issue of our time,” said Victoria Ellender, LyondellBasell spokesperson. “Projects like this help demonstrate we can recapture value from plastics after their initial useful life. We have long been active across several recycling technologies and are glad we could collaborate with the Plastic Industry Association (PLASTICS) to develop this solution.”

The products for this surfacing material is created using a recycling process to convert plastic waste back to its molecular level. This is used as a feedstock in the conventional production process to produce new polymers. A broad range of plastics can be recycled using this process, including hard-to-recycle items such as mixed materials, composites, multilayer and flexible plastics, according to Ellender.

“LyondellBasell continues to advance sustainability and fosters innovative solutions that will transform  the plastics industry,” said Armando Lara, site manager of the Louisiana Integrated PolyEthylene JV Site.  “Projects like this are exciting testaments to the capabilities we have to reuse products through  recycling that would otherwise go to waste.”

This is the second project LyondellBasell has completed with PLASTICS to reuse recycled polymers in  paving projects at manufacturing facilities that we own and operate.

“With the completion of their second plastic to asphalt project, LyondellBasell is demonstrating true  leadership and commitment to ending plastic waste in the environment. The Plastic to Asphalt program  continues to grow as companies choose to substitute traditional paving methods, which utilize fossil  fuels, for the use of recycled polymer technologies. The projects showcase the versatility of recycled  polymers and their use in diverse applications, such as construction and building projects,” said  PLASTICS’ Vice President of Sustainability, Patrick Krieger.

In June of 2020, PLASTICS announced the completion of research on a new formulation of asphalt binder  using the “Dry Process.” This formulation offers many of the same benefits of traditional polymer modified asphalt, including improved strength properties, and increased lifespan, at a decreased cost.