SK Chemical Acquires 10% Stake in Chinese Plastic Waste Recycling Company

Securing 20,000 Tons of Chemical Recycle Raw Material Production Capacity

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Chemicals is investing in a Chinese plastic waste (PET) recycling company to commercialize the world's first chemical recycle copolyester (PETG).

On the 17th, SK Chemicals announced that it invested 23 billion KRW to acquire a 10% stake in Shuye, a Chinese company with technology and facilities to chemically decompose waste PET, securing an off-take right for 20,000 tons of chemical recycle raw materials. Through this investment, SK Chemicals also secured exclusive rights to chemical recycle raw materials and chemical recycle PET (CR PET) related products in the Korean market. This decision was made to proactively respond to the rapidly growing eco-friendly packaging market demand driven by global policies to reduce single-use products and expand the use of recycled materials.

Recently, SK Chemicals launched the chemical recycle copolyester 'ECOTRIA CR' in the third quarter and announced plans to expand the sales proportion of recycled products to 50% by 2025, accelerating related initiatives.

Currently, methods to recycle waste PET are divided into 'physical recycling' and 'chemical recycling.' 'Physical recycling' involves crushing collected PET bottles and mixing the processed recycled raw material (PCR: Post-Consumer Recycled) for reuse. 'Chemical recycling' is a technology that decomposes plastics back into pure raw materials to manufacture polymer plastics, offering the advantage of repeated recycling without quality degradation compared to 'physical recycling.'

With the launch of 'ECOTRIA CR,' SK Chemicals will secure an industry-leading lineup of various eco-friendly packaging materials, including ▲ 'ECOTRIA CR' using chemical recycle raw materials ▲ 'ECOTRIA R' using recycled PET raw materials (PCR) ▲ and 'Ecogen Claro,' a high-transparency material. Copolyester is attracting attention from domestic and international cosmetics companies and container manufacturers due to its excellent chemical resistance and high transparency even in thick containers. The company is actively collaborating with domestic and foreign firms on ways to reduce plastic waste and enable recycling.

Kim Eung-soo, head of SK Chemicals' Copolyester Business Division, stated, "Through stable raw material procurement, we have established a production base for chemical recycle copolyester (PETG) and simultaneously secured new business opportunities for chemical recycle PET (CR PET)." He added, "We will do our best to succeed in the world's first commercial production of chemical recycle copolyester."

Meanwhile, in preparation for the expansion of the eco-friendly plastics market, SK Chemicals plans to complete the expansion of copolyester production facilities by the end of June and strengthen its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management system through the production of chemical recycle copolyester.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.