Committed to the Circular Economy , Braskem, the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the world's leading biopolymer producer, is launching at Feiplastic , Latin America's largest plastic trade fair, the latest advances of its Wecycle portfolio , an initiative to support the development of businesses that add value to post-consumer plastic waste. The event is being held through April 26 at Expo Center Norte in São Paulo city.

Fabiana Quiroga, director of Recycling and the Wecycle Platform at Braskem, explains that demand for sustainable solutions has been growing in virtually all industries, especially after major brand owners have undertaken voluntary commitments to use renewable and/or recycled raw materials. "Knowing the importance of contributing to this market's development, in 2015, we launched the Wecycle Platform in Brazil. We're very excited to announce the expansion of our portfolio, which offers efficient resins aligned with our belief and purpose of improving people's lives through sustainable solutions in chemistry and plastics," she said. 

One of the launches is the partnership with Embalixo , Brazil's leading trash bag producer, which is launching at Feiplastic Embalixo Repelente, its first line of trash bags with repellent action, which also bears the seals "Recycled Plastic. Conscientious Cycle" and " I'm green^TM ." The product is made from industrial sacks previously used by Braskem for delivering its resins, combined with its Green Polyethylene resin. 

Braskem's booth will showcase other successful cases of the Wecycle platform such as the Organizer Box developed in partnership with Leroy Merlin and Martiplast; the packaging for Qualitá Stain Remover developed in partnership with the Pão de Açúcar Group; and the Condor Sustainable Paint Kit made from recycled plastic buckets for inks used by the printing industry and for road marking.

In another technological development, Braskem will showcase its concept for manufacturing "Shrink Films with Zero CO₂ Emissions". The solution is made from the resin PCR originated from the reverse logistics of saccharins used by Braskem, combined with I'm green^TM polyethylene . "The carbon emissions from the recycling process are offset by the sequestering of carbon during the entire production cycle of the green polyethylene, which yields the solution Wecycle + Green Plastic with Zero CO₂ Emissions," explained Marcelo Neves, head of Application Engineering and the person responsible for the development.   

"In addition to reinforcing Braskem's commitment to innovation and technology at the service of sustainability and to leveraging the advances that plastics offer our modern way of life, the Wecycle initiative works to develop products and solutions that utilize plastic waste through partnerships with clients, recyclers, cooperatives and brand owners. Our commitment to the Circular Economy also includes actions to raise awareness among consumers and educate them, which is fundamental for effective post-consumer actions by generating volume to meet market demand," said Quiroga. 

To learn about "Braskem's Positioning on the Circular Economy," click here . 

I'm Green^TM Seal
Braskem created this seal so that consumers could recognize products made from biobased resins. To earn this differential, products must undergo carbon-14 dating, which is the same test used to estimate the age of fossils found around the world. To bear the seal, a product must contain at least 51% renewable materials.