WASHINGTON, DC  – The City of Houston, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, Cyclyx International, and FCC Environmental Services signed a memorandum of understanding forming the Houston Recycling Collaboration. The following statement may be attributed to Joshua Baca, the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) vice president of plastics:

“Today the city of Houston and four business partners have come together to find solutions that will move Houston’s recycling system into the modern era. Congratulations to the Houston Recycling Collaboration for setting the stage to dramatically improve recycling rates and sustainability in a major U.S. city and creating a blueprint on how to do so for other cities.

“Any modern recycling system must use all the tools in the toolbox to succeed. That includes using advanced recycling technologies that can recycle significantly more types of plastics than traditional recycling methods to make virgin-quality plastics for use in the most precise applications, such as medicine, food contact, and consumer safety products. Also, this collaboration will increase access to recycling programs for the community and local business and improve recycling education and outreach for the residents of Houston.

“The Houston Recycling Collaboration will help keep plastics in our economy and out of our environment. By bringing together two of the world’s largest chemical companies, each with announced plans to expand recycling capacity, a leading environmental services company with deep experience in Houston, an innovative circular systems developer, and the fourth largest municipality in the country, a more circular economy for plastics and a sustainable city are on the horizon.”