Methyl acetate is a by-product of commercial polyvinylalcohol or alkene vinyl alcohol copolymer-based processes. Generally, this material is processed to recover methanol and acetic acid. Discussed herein is a cost-saving scheme to by-pass the methyl acetate processing at production or plant facilities and utilize the methyl acetate in an integrated methanol carbonylation unit. The scheme discussed eliminates an expensive hydrolysis step often associated with the polymer process.