Versalis and Forever Plast launch REFENCE

Following the collaboration between Versalis, the chemical company of Eni, and Forever Plast, the leading Italian recycler of post-consumer plastics, comes REFENCE, an innovative range of recycled polymers for food contact packaging. Already available on the market, the range is used in polystyrene applications such as yogurt pots, meat and fish trays and other types of rigid and foam packaging.

These new products will expand the Versalis Revive portfolio of mechanically recycled materials, redefining their application limits and enabling direct food contact.

REFENCE is made possible by the NEWER technology, developed in the Versalis research laboratories in Mantua and industrially produced at Forever Plast’s plant in Lograto (Brescia), under a co-development agreement between Versalis and Forever Plast. NEWER™ enables the purification of recycled polymers, in compliance with EU Regulation 1616/2022 on recycling. The technology has also received a No Objection Letter (NOL) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Adriano Alfani, CEO of Versalis, said: "Circularity is a fundamental strategic lever. We are therefore committed to developing complementary recycling processes to add value to waste plastics and to integrating ourselves into the Italian national recycling chain. We are completing the construction of the first advanced mechanical recycling center in Porto Marghera, which focuses on post-consumer plastics, especially styrene polymers. Our collaboration with Forever Plast aims to cover applications such as food packaging, where sustainability and quality requirements are crucial, thus strengthening our leadership in mechanical recycling in Europe."

Piersandro Arrighini, CEO of Forever Plast, said: "We are very satisfied with the results achieved, especially since only a few years ago there was no chain in Europe to recover polystyrene from separate waste collections. The collaboration with Versalis has allowed us to reach this extraordinary milestone."