Afton Chemical joins other industry giants as part of an innovation task force to set a sustainable course for millions of everyday products

Afton Chemical, along with some of the world’s largest companies are uniting as part of an industry taskforce to find ways to make a group of key ingredients worth $125billion to the global economy more sustainable – and more valuable. Convened by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the taskforce will plan a strategy to make better use of unrecovered polymers in liquid formulations (PLFs).

PLFs have a number of practical uses and are found in millions of products from paints, adhesives and sealants to fertilisers, lubricants and cosmetics. They are also used in water treatment, inks production and even household cleaning products such as washing detergent.  

There are very few ways to recycle PLFs, with more than 36.25million tonnes not recovered after use every year – enough to fill 14,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools or Wembley Stadium 32 times. The task force will look to plan a way to tackle this poorly known waste stream and drive innovation to tackle the issue, improve waste management and introduce a circular PLF economy.
 
For more information, visit the RSC website here.