Recreated to create

ExxonMobil is strengthening the circularity of plastics through Exxtend™ technology for advanced recycling. At the forefront of evolving demand, Exxtend technology is a foundation for certified-circular products that can help our customers advance their sustainability goals.

Putting circularity into circulation

We are unlocking the value of a wider range of plastic material that can be difficult to recycle through mechanical processes. By breaking down plastics to the molecular level, Exxtend technology for advanced recycling creates virgin-quality plastic feedstock that can be put back into the value chain.

The quality and performance of certified-circular polymers are identical to polymers made from conventional fossil feedstock. Customers can have confidence incorporating certified-circular polymers into existing applications, including medical and food packaging.

Exxtend technology for advanced recycling also results in lower greenhouse gas emissions when processing plastic waste than when processing the same amount of fossil-based feedstocks, according to a cradle-to-gate carbon footprint assessment by Sphera, a leading sustainability consulting group for life cycle assessments.

Certified-circular polymers

ExxonMobil has obtained certifications through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS process for several of its facilities. ISCC PLUS is widely recognized by industry as an effective system for certifying products that result from advanced recycling using mass balance attribution of plastic waste.

Through our advanced recycling operations in Baytown, Texas, ExxonMobil is already making sales of certified-circular polymers, including in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia Pacific, helping to meet customers’ goals around the world for circularity.

500,000 metric tons of global capacity

In December 2022, we started up one of the largest advanced recycling facilities in North America. The facility at our integrated manufacturing complex in Baytown, Texas, is capable of processing 40,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year. Since the start of pilot operations at Baytown in 2021, we have recycled 6,700 metric tons of plastic waste, which has enabled us to make initial sales of certified-circular polymers to customers.

Leveraging our existing manufacturing assets around the world, Exxtend technology can be rapidly scaled to process a wide range of plastic waste. Plans are underway for up to 500,000 metric tons per year of advanced recycling capacity to be added by year-end 2026 across multiple sites globally, including in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Canada, the Netherlands, and Singapore.

We are also collaborating with third parties to assess the potential for large-scale implementation of advanced recycling technologies and opportunities to support improvements to plastic waste collection and sorting in Malaysia and Indonesia.