Aduro Clean Technologies Inc., a clean technology company using the power of chemistry to transform lower value feedstocks, like waste plastics, heavy bitumen, and renewable oils, into resources for the 21st century, and ECOCE, A.C., a non-profit environmental civil association based in Mexico, announced in early December that they have entered into a multi-year framework collaboration agreement to jointly evaluate Hydrochemolytic™ Technology (HCT) as a potential chemical recycling solution for flexible and mixed plastic packaging in Mexico, a large and particularly challenging waste stream that ECOCE has identified as a priority. 

ECOCE is a non-profit environmental civil association created and sponsored by the food and beverage industry in Mexico. It administers Mexico’s national private collective packaging management plan for post-consumer PET, HDPE, aluminum, and other materials on behalf of its member companies. This industry-led plan functions as a producer responsibility scheme through which participating companies jointly organize and finance the collection and recycling of their post-consumer packaging. 

Through nationwide collection, education, and take-back initiatives, ECOCE coordinates the recovery of post-consumer packaging and channels it into recycling systems across Mexico. Its membership includes many of Mexico’s leading beverage and food groups, including global consumer brands. Recognized as a pioneer in PET recovery and recycling in the country, ECOCE is now placing greater emphasis on the circularity of flexible plastic packaging by creating valuable circular destinations for these materials in support of the circularity commitments of its member companies.

Under this collaboration, ECOCE and Aduro are focused on evaluating the application of HCT on real post-consumer flexible plastic packaging from Mexico, including multi-layer and mixed structures, sourced through ECOCE’s post-consumer packaging collection and management systems. The collaboration contemplates that ECOCE would identify, characterize and supply representative material, while Aduro would conduct a structured, multi-stage program of Hydrochemolytic testing at its development facilities, from laboratory through pilot scale, to help assess processability, yields, product quality, and potential applications for the resulting liquid products.

The collaboration is intended to address one of the most challenging fractions in Mexico’s waste stream: post-consumer flexible plastic packaging. Mexico generates close to 60 kilograms of plastic waste per person every year, adding up to an estimated six to seven million tons of plastic waste annually. Within this total, flexible plastic packaging is a large and fast-growing category, with recent estimates indicating that around 1.5 million tons of this material are generated annually in Mexico, approximately 1.6 times the volume of PET beverage containers. Because these materials often combine multiple polymers, layers, inks, and adhesives in thin formats, they rarely fit into existing collection and mechanical recycling systems, and a high proportion is still destined for incineration, landfill, or leakage into the environment.

Hydrochemolytic™ Technology (HCT) is a patent-backed chemistry platform developed by Aduro that operates at moderate temperatures with catalysts to break down large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, more valuable liquid products. In plastics applications, HCT is designed to convert mixed and contaminated waste streams, including multilayer and flexible plastic packaging that is difficult to manage mechanically, into liquid hydrocarbons suitable for further upgrading and use as petrochemical feedstocks, including in steam crackers. 

Recent independent pilot-scale steam-cracking trials have shown that a sample of Hydrochemolytic™ Oil produced from plastics using HCT can be processed as produced, with little or no costly post-treatment, while delivering stable furnace operation and olefin yields comparable to conventional fossil feedstocks, providing key building blocks for the production of new plastics.

Aduro is advancing HCT through a structured scale-up program, with its Next Generation Process (NGP) Pilot Plant nearing completion and active development underway for its demonstration-scale plant, including global site selection, and long-lead equipment assessments.

Based on the results generated under the collaboration, ECOCE and Aduro intend to study potential business models and routes to market that can create value for ECOCE’s associated members, waste collectors, and downstream offtake partners. The findings are expected to guide future decisions about how HCT-based recycling solutions might be deployed in Mexico. Options under consideration could include HCT facilities that may be owned and operated by Aduro, ECOCE members, or third parties under license from Aduro, as well as the potential establishment of an Aduro presence in Mexico. Any such projects would be subject to separate definitive agreements, and regulatory clearances where applicable, and would depend on the progress of the company’s broader scale-up program.

The collaboration, structured as a multi-year, phased program, is expected to formally begin in January 2026. At each stage, the partners will review the findings and determine the appropriate next steps, ensuring that progress toward potential HCT-based recycling solutions in Mexico is guided by data and aligned with the objectives of both organizations.

Even ahead of the formal start, early activities are already underway. The Aduro/ECOCE announcement coincided with Aduro’s participation in the 2nd Sustainable Flexible Packaging LATAM conference in Mexico City, where Chief Revenue Officer Eric Appelman spoke about the collaboration and the role of chemical recycling in handling films and flexibles.