SABIC is a global diversified chemicals company, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products – chemicals, commodity and high performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.

Recently, SABIC has collaborated with Scientex in the packaging value chain to enable the manufacturer to develop materials for what is touted as the world’s first flexible food packaging made with advanced recycled OBP (ocean-bound plastics), using SABIC-certified circular polypropylene (PP). The material is being used in a premium brand of noodle packaging sold in Malaysia.

“We are proud to offer our customers circular solutions to reduce plastic waste that could otherwise end up in our rivers and oceans,” says Abdullah Al Otaibi, general manager, engineering thermoplastic and market solutions business unit for Petrochemicals at SABIC. “This flexible food packaging containing OBP connects with our TRUCIRCLE program of circular solutions designed to help protect our planet.”

OBP is abandoned plastic waste found in areas up to 50 km inland from waterways that may eventually be washed into the ocean by rainfall, rivers or tides.

“Thanks to this highly efficient collaboration with SABIC, we are able to bring the world’s first advance recycled flexible PP food packaging to the Asian market using circular OBP,” states Paul Ng Kok Leong, head of BOPP Film Division, Scientex Group. “This successful initiative demonstrates the feasibility of tackling the plastic waste issue through dedicated value chain collaborations and sets a milestone in shaping a circular plastics economy in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia.”

The OBP used in the project is recovered and converted to pyrolysis oil in an advanced recycling process. SABIC uses this oil as an alternative feedstock to produce certified circular PP polymer for further processing to BOPP film. Scientex then manufactures and prints the noodle packs from this film. The entire chain from the management of the collected OBP to the final packaging is seamlessly accredited under established certification regimes.

With a mass balance accounted OBP content of 30%, the certified circular PP from SABIC performs the same way as incumbent fossil-based virgin PP and could be used as a direct drop-in alternative in this flexible food packaging application, without the need to change its existing assets and processes.

SABIC’s certified circular polymers form part of the company’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio and services for circular solutions. The offering also includes design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified renewable polymers from bio-based feedstock and closed loop initiatives to recycle plastic back into high-quality applications and help prevent valuable used plastics from becoming waste.

SABIC has been actively working on other sustainable projects, as well. As part of TRUCIRCLE, the company has introduced a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with mechanically recycled content.  The material was custom-developed for blow molding of motor oil and lubricant bottles. It has a content in the range of 30% mechanically recycled post-consumer plastic.  The initiative aims to drive toward a full closed loop from bottle to bottle in the Saudi Arabian automotive aftermarket. 

“At SABIC, we are committed to accelerating the transition toward more circular solutions for the automotive aftermarket,” states Al Otaibi. “This transformation will not only require innovation but also collaboration, which will be taken across the value chain to bring to life feasible closed-loop initiatives such as those under our TRUCIRCLE program.

“This first mechanical recycling project aims to create a solid new sustainable business model in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he adds. “It demonstrates the feasibility to scale up circular solutions and the combined expertise to extend the life of plastics and regain value from post-consumer oil bottle waste.”