US’ Ascend Performance Materials has purchased a majority stake in California-based Circular Polymers, a recycler of post-consumer, high-performance polymers including polyamide 6 and 66, polypropylene and polyester (PET). The deal provides Ascend with a consistent supply of high-quality PCR materials for its ReDefyne sustainable polyamides.

Circular Polymers, which as part of the deal is renamed Circular Polymers by Ascend, reclaims and processes post-consumer carpet via a unique technology and has redirected approximately 85 million pounds of waste from landfills into new goods since 2018. Ascend, a fully integrated producer of durable materials, has a sustainability strategy based on three pillars: empowering people, innovating solutions and operating without compromise. Ascend has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2030 and recently announced two new efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of its products, Ascend said in a press release.

"We are focused on helping our customers reach their sustainability goals and Circular Polymers by Ascend provides materials that offer strong performance with a considerably smaller environmental footprint, compared to other technologies like pyrolysis. Since we launched ReDefyne, the demand for our circular products has been significant across all segments of our business, including automotive, consumer, electronics and high-performance fibres and textiles,” Phil McDivitt, president and CEO of Ascend, said.

"Since 2018, we have focused on improving the sourcing and processing of post-consumer high-performance polymers. Having Ascend on board will accelerate our growth and ensure these materials go back into new long-term, high-performance applications,” David Bender, founder and CEO of Circular Polymers, said.