Eastman Chemical hosts EPA officials at Kingsport methanolysis recycling plant

EPA principal deputy assistant administrator Steven Cook and regional administrator Kevin McOmber toured Eastman's Kingsport, Tennessee methanolysis plant, which can process more than 250 million pounds of plastic waste annually. Eastman's process breaks down hard-to-recycle polyester waste to the molecular level, creating new materials and delivering approximately 20%–30% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional fossil-based plastic production. The visit also covered the site's mixed plastics processing and sorting operations.

Key facts

Market context

Polyester, the polymer at the center of this story, is widely used in fibers for apparel and home textiles, in beverage and food packaging, and in engineered plastic parts. Demand for it is driven largely by consumer goods, packaging, and textile supply chains, which increasingly seek recycled content to meet brand commitments and regulatory requirements. Methanolysis is a chemical recycling route that uses methanol to break polyester waste back into its basic monomers, which can then be repurified and repolymerized into materials that perform like virgin resin. Unlike mechanical recycling, it can handle mixed or contaminated polyester waste that is hard to reuse. Because the process relies on established petrochemical feedstocks and equipment, it competes for the same downstream customers as fossil-based polyester, so its economics depend on feedstock costs, waste collection, and the value buyers place on recycled content.

Source: official release on eastman.com. Summary and context written by Market Krystal.