End-of-life solution for Dyneema® based body armor honored at Milipol Paris 2023
CLEVELAND – November 14, 2023 – Dyneema®, owned by Avient Corporation,
a leading provider of specialty and sustainable material solutions, today announced its Circular Solution for Dyneema® fiber end-of-life recycling has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Milipol Innovation Awards in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) category.
The end-of-life solution uses advanced chemical recycling, known as pyrolysis, to return Dyneema® to its most basic form: ethylene. With the support of the Sustainable Development Office of French Ministry of Interior (Mission Development Durable), more than 250 soft armor vests from the French Police and Gendarmerie Nationale containing Dyneema® ballistic material were taken from the field and tested on a pilot scale – successfully eliminating more than 400 kg of waste to reinstate Dyneema® back into the circular economy.
“Increasing regulations across the defense and security industry are putting further demands on material suppliers to find end-of-life solutions for their products,” said Marcelo van de Kamp, global business director for personal protection at Avient. “By collaborating with key stakeholders throughout the value chain, we’ve been able to establish a recycling solution for Dyneema® without impacting the technology requirements to deliver the world’s strongest fiber™. This advancement will open up key opportunities for our customers and end-users as they look to further reduce their carbon footprint.”
Building on the preliminary success, a large-scale trial at the end of 2023 will validate findings with commercialization for the Circular Solution for Dyneema® aimed for 2025. The recycled content-based solution is part of a larger end-to-end sustainability initiative that also includes a focus on sustainable sourcing, manufacturing, and usage, with the ultimate ambition of creating full circularity for all Dyneema® products.
The Milipol Innovation Awards were designed to honor the most innovative companies in products, materials, services, solutions or business models related to the homeland security industry. Other finalists for the CSR award included Cybtech, Rostaing, and Ultraops.
The Circular Solution for Dyneema® is a testament to Dyneema®’s legacy of innovation, further exemplified by the recent introduction of their third-generation fiber and corresponding ballistic material technology.