Mars Family Scion Valerie Mars to Guide PureCycle's Recycling Push

ORLANDO, FL – December 18, 2025 – PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCT), a company aiming to revolutionize plastics recycling, today announced the appointment of Valerie Mars to its Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2026. The move brings a fourth-generation member of the Mars family, a dynasty synonymous with global consumer goods, into the leadership of a technology firm at the forefront of the circular economy.

Mars, who recently retired from Mars, Incorporated after more than three decades, brings a wealth of experience in corporate development and a deep-seated commitment to sustainability. Her appointment is being viewed as a significant endorsement for PureCycle, a company that has faced both operational hurdles and market skepticism despite its promising technology.

A Legacy of Sustainability Meets a Technological Frontier

Valerie Mars is not just a high-profile name; she represents a powerful legacy of corporate evolution and sustainability. During her more than 20 years as Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at Mars, Incorporated, she was a key figure in shaping the company’s long-term strategy. Insiders note she was a strong internal advocate for ambitious environmental goals.

She was instrumental in championing initiatives like the company's 'Sustainable in a Generation' plan, a multi-billion dollar program launched in 2017 to address climate change, resource scarcity, and poverty across its value chain. This plan includes aggressive targets, such as cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving net-zero by 2050. By 2024, the confectionary and pet food giant had already reduced its emissions by over 16% while growing its business significantly. A core pillar of this strategy involves redesigning packaging for circularity, with a commitment to incorporate 30% recycled content and reduce virgin plastic use.

PureCycle CEO Dustin Olson highlighted this alignment in his announcement. “Valerie Mars has been a strong advocate for sustainable business practices and, along with her generation of family members helped drive initiatives within Mars like their ‘Sustainable in a Generation’ plan,” Olson stated. “Her desire to drive sustainability and familiarity with scaling business operations perfectly aligns with PureCycle’s core mission.”

PureCycle's High-Stakes Push for a Circular Economy

The mission Mars is joining is an ambitious one. PureCycle holds the global license for a patented dissolution technology, originally developed by Procter & Gamble, designed to purify #5 polypropylene (PP) plastic waste. This type of plastic is found in everything from yogurt cups and food containers to automotive parts and carpets, but it is notoriously difficult to recycle back into high-quality material. PureCycle’s process removes color, odor, and other contaminants to produce an “ultra-pure” recycled resin, trademarked as PureFive™, that is said to be indistinguishable from virgin plastic.

The company's flagship purification facility in Ironton, Ohio, represents the first commercial-scale test of this technology. After reaching mechanical completion in April 2023, the plant has been navigating a challenging ramp-up phase. It produced its first commercial-scale pellets in June 2023 and, after a planned outage for system improvements, has been increasing production. The company reported producing 3.4 million pounds of resin in the second quarter of 2025 and successfully completed a key rate test in August, demonstrating its potential to reach its projected annual capacity of 107 million pounds.

Mars expressed her enthusiasm after visiting the site. “I’ve been a lifelong advocate for advancing noble causes, and it’s great to have the opportunity to serve the mission of this company,” she said. “It was great to witness sustainability in action at the Ironton Facility and to see how this innovative technology can give curbside waste a new life. As a champion of sustainability I look forward to helping guide PureCycle into the next phase of their growth.”

Navigating a Volatile Market with a High-Profile Endorsement

Mars' guidance comes at a critical time for PureCycle. While the company has secured significant off-take agreements for its future production—with its Ironton capacity fully committed and future plants already oversubscribed—it has faced significant headwinds. The company is not yet profitable and has seen its stock (PCT) decline by over 45% in the last six months, closing today at $7.45.

Investor sentiment has been mixed. While some analysts maintain “Strong Buy” ratings with price targets well above the current stock price, others have grown more cautious. TD Cowen recently downgraded the stock to “Hold,” citing anticipated delays in the company’s growth strategy. This volatility follows earlier challenges, including a 2021 report from short-seller Hindenburg Research and a subsequent SEC subpoena, which questioned the firm's financial projections and technology claims.

In this context, the appointment of a respected executive from a global CPG giant is more than a standard board addition. It is a strategic move that lends immense credibility to PureCycle’s technology and business model. It reframes the company not just as a speculative tech play, but as a potential long-term partner for the very brands that are under intense pressure to solve their plastic waste problems. For investors, Mars' presence on the board may serve as a powerful signal of enhanced oversight and industry validation.

The Synergistic Potential for Global Brands

The strategic fit between Valerie Mars' background and PureCycle’s business is undeniable. Mars, Incorporated has an enormous plastic packaging footprint, estimated at around 400 million pounds annually. A significant portion of this is polypropylene, including hard-to-recycle films and containers that are directly in PureCycle’s technological wheelhouse.

While no formal partnerships have been announced, the potential for synergy is immense. Mars' deep understanding of her family's corporate logistics and packaging waste streams could create a direct pipeline, providing PureCycle with a consistent source of feedstock and, in turn, supplying Mars, Inc. with the high-quality recycled resin it needs to meet its sustainability targets. Capturing even a fraction of Mars, Inc.'s plastic waste would be transformative for the recycler; 25% of that footprint would nearly equal the entire annual output of the Ironton facility.

This appointment also sends a powerful message to the broader consumer goods industry. Companies like Unilever, Nestlé, and P&G are all racing to meet aggressive self-imposed and regulatory deadlines for recycled content. With regulations like the EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation mandating 10% recycled content in food-contact plastics by 2030, the demand for food-grade recycled polymers is set to explode. By bringing a leader like Valerie Mars into its inner circle, PureCycle is positioning itself as the premier solution provider for an industry at a critical inflection point, potentially accelerating the mainstream adoption of a truly circular economy for plastics.