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Artificial turf fields past their lifespan that previously were sent to landfills are now being broken down to their molecular components and turned into new products through advanced recycling. ExxonMobil operates one of the largest advanced recycling facilities in North America, located in Baytown, Texas. The company is assessing other locations around the world for a new facility, including Baton Rouge.
TenCate, the world’s leading company in synthetic turf for sports and landscaping, along with GeoSurfaces, its local construction brand located in St. Gabriel, is working with ExxonMobil’s Baytown facility to provide plastic feedstock in the form of turf fields they remove from sports facilities across the country. After removing the turf and separating the infill products like sand and rubber, the plastic grass is shredded. The pieces are compressed, baled and sent to ExxonMobil as a feedstock for the company’s advanced recycling facility, says TenCate’s Charles Dawson.
ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling facility takes difficult to recycle plastics, including multi-layer products and those contaminated with some residual waste, and breaks them down to
their original molecules – something that the traditional mechanical recycling process can’t do. These molecules become the raw materials used to make brand-new products, including new plastics.
If ExxonMobil were to build a new advanced recycling facility in our area, it would allow for more collaborations with businesses that want to recycle their plastic waste, diverting the waste from landfills, and providing an alternative to fossil-based feedstocks, such as crude oil.
Turf fields like those found at area high schools contain the equivalent amount of plastic as 100,000 water bottles, Dawson says. “Ten fields can translate into a million typical water bottles. From a volume standpoint, it makes a real impact,” he says.
ExxonMobil is hoping to work with additional businesses who have similar goals of reducing their waste. Natalie Martinez, ExxonMobil North America Advanced Recycling Commercial Manager, says businesses may not be aware that they have a lot of difficult-to-recycle plastic waste streams – like pallet wrap, shrink wrap and foam material that is comprised of polyethylene and polypropylene plastic – that could be recycled today using advanced recycling methods.
“If you have zero waste goals, advanced recycling can offer another outlet for that waste that doesn’t exist right now for small businesses,” she says.
After the plastics are broken down, the molecules become the raw materials used to make new products, including plastics that are considered “virgin-grade” and are safe for food packaging, as well as medical equipment like surgical gowns, facemasks and other personal protective equipment. The process contributes to a circular economy, meaning that when a product reaches its end of life, it’s recovered and put back into the economy as a new product rather than ending up in a landfill.
For businesses that are interested in taking part in ExxonMobil’s supply chain for advanced recycling, they should examine their waste streams to better understand what could be recycled rather than put into landfills and then advocate for the option in our area, Martinez says. ExxonMobil is expected to make a final investment decision on the advanced recycling facility by late this year or early next year.
For more information about advanced recycling at ExxonMobil, visit https://exxonmobilchemical.com/exxtend.
