Plastics & Rubber – From disposal problem to resource stream
Plastic and rubber waste are among the most challenging and rapidly growing waste streams globally.
Traditional disposal methods such as:
landfilling
incineration
export or low-quality recycling
are increasingly costly, resource-inefficient, and subject to regulatory pressure.
At the same time, a large portion of plastic waste remains non-recyclable using conventional mechanical processes.
A growing global challenge
Plastic waste has reached a scale that exceeds current infrastructure capabilities:
global plastic waste exceeds 400 million tons per year
only ~9% is effectively recycled
tire waste exceeds 1 billion units annually
large volumes accumulate in landfills, rivers, and oceans
Many regions are tightening regulations on:
landfill usage
open burning
cross-border waste export
This creates both pressure and opportunity for new treatment technologies.
Typical feedstocks
Satoumi systems are designed to process a wide range of plastic and rubber materials, including:
mixed plastic waste streams
non-recyclable packaging materials
multilayer plastics
ocean plastic and river-intercepted waste
landfill-derived plastics
end-of-life tires
industrial rubber waste
contaminated or degraded plastic fractions
These feedstocks are often:
heterogeneous
contaminated
unsuitable for mechanical recycling
Current system limitations
Operators handling plastic and rubber waste face several structural challenges:
high sorting and processing costs
limited recycling options for mixed or contaminated materials
increasing landfill restrictions
fluctuating market prices for recycled materials
environmental and reputational pressure
As a result, large volumes remain:
Underutilized or disposed of at high cost
The Satoumi approach – Converting waste into hydrocarbons
Satoumi systems enable the thermochemical conversion of plastic and rubber waste into valuable output streams.
Instead of treating waste as a disposal problem, pyrolysis enables:
Recovery of embedded carbon as usable products
Outputs and value streams
Plastic and rubber pyrolysis can generate multiple revenue streams:
pyrolysis oil
→ can be refined into fuels or used as chemical feedstock
recovered carbon materials
→ potential replacement for carbon black in industrial applications
process gases
→ can be used for energy or upgraded (e.g. hydrogen potential)
gate fees
→ revenue for accepting waste streams
policy incentives and subsidies (region-dependent)
Typical incentive frameworks may include:
waste reduction and recycling subsidies
advanced recycling incentives
low-carbon fuel standards (e.g. LCFS in the US)
extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes
circular economy funding programs
Energy and material recovery
Plastic waste has a high intrinsic energy content.
Typical energy values:
plastics: 30–45 MJ/kg (comparable to fossil fuels)
tires: similarly high calorific value
This makes plastic pyrolysis particularly relevant for:
fuel production
chemical feedstock recovery
energy substitution
Unlocking energy that would otherwise be lost through disposal
Operational advantages of decentralized systems
Satoumi’s decentralized approach offers several advantages:
processing close to waste generation points
reduced logistics and transport costs
modular scaling instead of large centralized plants
integration into existing waste handling operations
flexibility in feedstock composition
This is particularly relevant for:
municipalities
waste management companies
industrial operators
environmental cleanup projects
Strategic relevance
Plastic and rubber waste are shifting from:
Environmental liability → strategic resource
As regulations tighten and markets evolve, operators that can:
recover value
reduce emissions
comply with policy frameworks
will gain a structural advantage.
A practical pathway forward
Pyrolysis does not replace existing systems entirely.
Instead, it complements them by:
handling non-recyclable fractions
increasing overall recovery rates
adding new value streams
Satoumi systems enable:
pilot-scale deployment
gradual integration
scaling based on local waste availability
In this context, plastic waste is no longer the end of a value chain —
it becomes the starting point for energy and material recovery.
Interested in becoming an early partner?
Satoumi is currently seeking pilot partners to realize the first projects and move the technology into real-world deployment.
At this stage, we are primarily looking for organizations capable of participating in early implementation, prototyping, manufacturing, or operational pilot projects.
If your organization is interested — even if the timing is not yet ideal — we encourage you to contact us.
We are happy to:
provide additional technical information
discuss potential collaboration models
evaluate whether a partnership is a good fit
place interested organizations on our early partner and deployment waitlist
We are also working toward making complete reactor systems available in the future through manufacturing and deployment partners.
If you are interested in:
future reactor purchases
licensing opportunities
pilot deployments
or future rental/leasing models
we would be glad to stay in contact and reach out once the appropriate deployment stage is reached.