September 14, 2021
NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS – September 14, 2021 – UL, the global safety science leader, today announced that SABIC, one of the world’s largest chemical manufacturing companies, has become the first chemical manufacturer to achieve UL 2809, the Environmental Claim Validation for Recycled Content for ocean-bound plastics for their XENOY™ T2BX2500UV PC/PET (polycarbonates/polyethylene terephthalate) compound.
According to a 2020 report from Pew Charitable Trust, 40% of today’s global plastic waste ends up in the environment. With this validation, SABIC is confirming that the company is helping to reduce ocean plastics and supporting ocean-bound PET recycled pellets used by manufacturers in new consumer goods and electronics applications, such as TV remote controls and electric razors.
“With the UL 2809 Environmental Claim Validation, SABIC takes a bold step toward increasing availability of validated recycled ocean plastic materials that are environmentally preferable. By providing these plastics, SABIC is introducing solutions that can help address the challenge of plastics making their way into our waterways and oceans. We congratulate them on this significant environmental milestone,” said Doug Lockard, vice president and general manager in UL’s Retail and Consumer Products group.
Designed to measure the amount of recycled content in products, UL 2809 has been revised to evaluate pre-consumer and post-consumer sources of materials and now includes assessment of the social impacts of collecting these recycled materials on local economies.
“Consumers are increasingly taking into account the environmental impact of their purchases. Therefore, our customers envision an increased market need for more sustainable materials in the future. SABIC is committed to innovating and working with partners to change how plastic is made and used, creating a circular economy where we use our natural resources responsibly,” said Abdullah Al-Otaibi, general manager, ETP (engineering thermoplastics) and Market Solutions for Petrochemicals at SABIC. “We place extreme importance on verifying the quality of the used ocean-bound PET resin that we receive from our suppliers to guarantee its properties so that we can create compounds that consistently meet the very high standards set by our customers for their components. And, at the same time, we can contribute to help address the challenge of used plastics that end up in our environment.”
With environmental claim validation, UL is working to increase confidence in and use of recycled plastics across global economies. SABIC’s validation of their XENOY T2BX2500UV PC/PET compound is just one more step on the journey toward reduced use of virgin material and saving critical waterways from pollution.
Learn more about how UL’s Recycled Content Validation authenticates the post-consumer, pre-consumer (post-industrial), closed loop or total recycled content of products.
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