Circular Polymers

September 18, 2023

We are pleased to welcome Circular Polymers as a new Supporting Advisory Member to The Northeast Recycling Council

Headquartered in Houston with its plant located in Lincoln CA, new NERC Advisory Member Circular Polymers by Ascend has redirected about 85 million pounds of waste from landfills since 2018 and plans to further expand its operations. The Nylon 6,6, Nylon 6, PET and Polypropylene derived by the company from post-consumer carpet become feedstock for chemical recycling, and also provide polymer for traditional industries.


In November 2022, Ascend Performance Materials purchased a majority stake in Circular Polymers. In June 2023, the company launched Cerene, which it describes as “a line of recycled polymers and materials made from the company’s proprietary carpet reclaiming technology.” The materials in the Cerene line provide sustainable feedstock for many applications, including molding and compounding.

“Customers around the globe are seeking consistent and reliable post-consumer recycled materials,” said Maria Field, business director of Circular Polymers by Ascend. “Cerene is mechanically recycled using a process that minimizes our carbon footprint and environmental impact.”


Ascend’s acquisition of Circular Polymers provides the parent company with a consistent supply of high-quality PCR materials for its ReDefyne sustainable polyamides. “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,” said Phil McDivitt, president and CEO of Ascend. “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 fibers and textiles.”


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


It’s all hands on deck for solutions to the plastics waste pollution crisis. NERC welcomes Circular Polymers by Ascend as a new Advisory Member, and looks forward to partnering on approaches to an effective circular economy.


For more information about Circular Polymers click here

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September 17, 2025
The City of Medford won the 2025 Environmental Leadership Award for Outstanding Community presented by the Northeast Recycling Council, for its innovative work to reduce waste and create a more sustainable waste collection system through the City’s free curbside composting program. “I'm thankful to our team at City Hall, the Solid Waste Taskforce, our consultants Strategy Zero Waste and our volunteers for working so hard to launch our curbside composting program and making it such a meaningful success for our community,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said. “This award shows that the work we’re doing in both composting and recycling is having real, transformative effects on how our community thinks about waste and the steps we’re taking to create a more sustainable environment for the future. We are honored to be recognized by the Northeast Recycling Council for these efforts.” Each year, NERC honors a community, an organization, and an individual for their outstanding contributions to recycling education and innovation. This year will mark the 9th annual Environmental Leadership Awards Ceremony, recognizing individuals and organizations who help further NERC’s waste and recycling goals. “Our committee is wholeheartedly impressed by the work of the City of Medford, and how important and impactful that work is for the community,” said Sophie Leone, Development and Program Manager at NERC. “It is a perfect representation of NERC’s mission to minimize waste, conserve natural resources, and advance a sustainable economy through facilitated collaboration and action and we are very excited to bestow the City of Medford with this award.” You can read more about the Environmental Leadership Awards here . And if you haven’t signed up for Medford’s free curbside composting program, you can do that at medfordcomposts.com . Read on MedfordMA.org.
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