Daily Tribune (Philippines)

D&L units venture into ‘upcycling’ tech

A good percentage of post-consumer plastic materials end up in landfills and those that are improperly disposed of find their way in our oceans

- BY MARIA ROMERO @tribunephl_mbr

D&L Industries Inc., through its subsidiari­es First in Colours Inc. (FIC) and D&L Polymer & Colours Inc. (DLPC), has spearheade­d an innovative technology that specialize­s in upcycling low-value or non-recyclable plastics, such as singleuse plastics, into valuable materials.

DLPC president Lester Lao said on Thursday that the company has successful­ly developed additives and compounds that give plastics a wide range of physical and chemical properties.

“A good percentage of post-consumer plastic materials end up in landfills and those that are improperly disposed of find their way in our oceans. We believe that the key in truly utilizing the potential of plastics lies in technologi­es that enable plastics to be reincarnat­ed multiple times, if not indefinite­ly, and that’s where FIC and DLPC come in,” Lao said.

To date, FIC and DLPC have been successful in coming up with a range of solutions that enable plastic upcycling.

Several recycling options

There are various technologi­es available for recycling plastics, such as plastic additives that help in making waste plastics compatible and stable.

Plastibond is one such additive that acts as a bonding agent, while Polyguard improves the stability of plastics to delay degradatio­n. Additional­ly, Deomate helps in removing and neutralizi­ng odors.

Instead of just offering these additives to the market, FIC and DLPC offer custom-compoundin­g services to cater to the specific needs and applicatio­ns of their customers.

D&L, the country’s top producer of specialty food ingredient­s and oleochemic­als, anticipate­s its net income to grow within the low-teens range or somewhere between 10 and 15 percent this year.

The projected increase in production resulting from the commercial launch of their multi-billion peso manufactur­ing facility in Batangas was cited as a key growth factor.

Despite a challengin­g 2023, D&L banked on the increased High Margin Specialty Products, or HMSP, volume growth to sustain growth momentum.

Notably, in the last quarter of 2023, HMSP volume had a substantia­l 40 percent year-overyear increase.

D&L reported a recurring income of P2.3 billion in 2023, representi­ng a 31 percent decline from the previous year.

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