The first commercial consignments of recycled styrene monomer have arrived at Ineos Styrolution’s site in Antwerp. The feedstock was supplied by Indaver from its new depolymerisation plant, inaugurated on 25 September 2025 and described as the first facility in Europe dedicated to polystyrene recycling. With both facilities located in Antwerp, the set-up shortens logistics and provides a localised route from waste plastics back to monomer. According to the companies, the delivery marks a milestone for scaling chemical recycling of polystyrene in Europe.
The delivery enables the production of high-quality polystyrene and other styrenics, including for food-grade, transparent and medical applications. The recycled styrene augments Ineos Styrolution’s portfolio of sustainable styrenics, which already includes mechanically recycled and bio-attributed grades, and demonstrates the company’s ability to deploy multiple recycling technologies for different waste streams.
“We are pleased that we can now offer styrenics from depolymerisation at market scale”, remarks Rob Buntinx, President EMEA, Ineos Styrolution. “This gives our customers more sustainable options to lower their environmental footprint without compromising product quality or performance.”
“With Plastics2Chemicals (P2C), Indaver is pioneering in the circular economy and advanced chemical recycling. By converting hard-to-recycle plastics into virgin-quality feedstock such as styrene, we are closing the loop and offering a sustainable alternative to fossil resources”, states Erik Moerman, Sales and Development Director P2C. “Our in-house developed technology, combined with strategic partnerships and continuous innovation, enables us to deliver high-purity materials for demanding applications like food packaging, proving that circularity and performance can go hand in hand.”
The milestone underscores a key attribute of polystyrene. The polymer can be depolymerised back to its original styrene monomer and rebuilt for high-value use. Depolymerisation is described as more energy-efficient than other advanced recycling methods such as pyrolysis. By returning the material to monomer, the process keeps polystyrene in circulation and turns waste into a resource instead of landfill or litter.
How depolymerisation works and its implications
Depolymerisation is a chemical recycling process that breaks polystyrene down into styrene monomer, its original building block. This contrasts with mechanical recycling, in which plastic waste is physically processed back into pellets without changing the basic chemical structure. Because depolymerisation returns the material to the molecular level, it enables the production of new styrenics with the same quality and properties as fossil-based products, including compliance with strict food-contact standards. Compared to conventional fossil-based production routes, depolymerisation avoids multiple resource-intensive steps, leading to lower resource use and significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Local supply chain and market scale
The co-location of Indaver’s depolymerisation plant and Ineos Styrolution’s styrenics operations in Antwerp keeps the supply chain short. Deliveries of recycled styrene monomer at commercial scale provide feedstock for polystyrene and other styrenics applications, complementing mechanically recycled and bio-attributed offerings and broadening options for different waste streams.
