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Recycled plastic for fibers, recycled fibers, recycled yarns and rPET for packaging -
PET flake
Plans of a new partnership between two plastics companies could reduce the number of plastic beverage bottles by 1.6 billion over the course of a few years, according to Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL).
IVL, the world’s largest producer of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for beverage bottles, completed a deal Feb. 18 for an 85% equity stake in Czech Republic-based PET plastic recycler, UCY Polymers CZ s.r.o. (UCY), “boosting the country and Europe’s plastic collection and recycling ambitions,” described the company.
As a result of the investment, IVL will recycle about 1.12 billion additional post-consumer PET plastic bottles in the Czech Republic every year by 2025, increasing the total bottles recycled by UCY across the Czech Republic, Germany and Central Europe to 1.6 billion bottles per year. IVL, a global sustainable chemicals company, is investing $1.5 billion globally to expand recycling facilities and sustainable production, including boosting its recycling capacity to 750,000 tons per year by 2025.
UCY is a strategic fit for IVL as a backward integration into the company’s expanding recycled PET (rPET) footprint in Europe and across the world to secure feedstock for rPET products. UCY can produce 40,000 tonnes of recycled PET flake per year. IVL will develop UCY to serve the increasing demand for recycled PET in Europe.
UCY will work with IVL’s existing PET flake production facilities in the region. These provide the washed and shredded post-consumer bottles as PET flake feedstock to produce recycled PET resin that is suitable for food contact use. PET is fully recyclable and the most collected and recycled plastic packaging in Europe.
D K Agarwal, CEO and CFO at Indorama Ventures, said: “IVL will use our know-how to grow capacity and recycle more and more bottles. As part of our commitment to sustainability and the circular economy, we are building the recycling infrastructure needed to divert PET waste from the environment. By recycling post-consumer PET bottles into new bottles, we give waste an economic value. This drives improvements in waste collection systems, meaning less waste and a cleaner environment.”
Yash Lohia, Chairman of ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, said: “Our partnership will strengthen the recycling ecosystem in the Czech Republic. This growth is made possible because of our customers’ commitment to bottle-to-bottle recycling, which allows us to build the recycling infrastructure Europe needs.”
Maximilian Josef Söllner, CEO, UCY, said, “We look forward to adding our robust supply of post-consumer bottles, well-established technology and proven management team to IVL. Expanding our capacity by 2025 means an extra 896 million more bottles will be recycled in our facilities compared with today.”
About Indorama Ventures
Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, is one of the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Europe, Africa, Americas and Asia Pacific. The company’s portfolio comprises Combined PET, Integrated Oxides and Derivatives, and Fibers. Indorama Ventures products serve major FMCG and automotive sectors, i.e. beverages, hygiene, personal care, tire and safety segments. Indorama Ventures has approximately 24,000 employees worldwide and consolidated revenue of $10.6 billion in 2020. The company is listed in the Dow Jones Emerging Markets and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI). Visit www.indoramaventures.com for more information about the company.