GS Caltex and Nestle Korea Join Forces to Build a Circular Economy

GS Caltex Signs Business Agreement with Nestle Korea on Domestic Coffee Capsule Recycling

Roman Ilure-Ulpiseubeg, Head of Nestle Korea Coffee Division (left), and Jang Hoon, Head of GS Caltex Chemical Business Strategy Division (right), are posing for a commemorative photo at the business agreement ceremony. Photo by GS Caltex

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] GS Caltex and Nestl? Korea are embarking on building a circular economy to enhance resource efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

On the 4th, the two companies announced that they signed a business agreement for recycling waste plastics at Nestl? Korea's headquarters located in Chungjeong-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

GS Caltex plans to process and produce the plastic capsules sold domestically under Nestl? Korea's flagship brand Nescaf? Dolce Gusto into eco-friendly composite resin. The collected plastic capsules will undergo pretreatment through their partner company Dowon Industry and be processed into recyclable raw materials such as flakes and pellets. GS Caltex will then be able to produce upcycled eco-friendly composite resin using these materials.

Through this agreement, both companies aim to minimize waste, increase resource circulation rates, and realize an upcycling method that creates new value. Going forward, GS Caltex will not only produce eco-friendly composite resin but also handle high value-added product development using recycled raw materials from Nestl? Korea, providing the necessary technical support throughout the process.

Jang Hoon, Head of Chemical Business Strategy Division at GS Caltex, stated, "The two companies will continue to collaborate to fulfill environmental responsibilities and realize the value of a circular economy. GS Caltex will focus on developing and producing products using eco-friendly raw materials in cooperation with global clients."

Roman Illure-Ulpisberg, Head of Coffee Business Division at Nestl? Korea, said, "Nestl? has declared its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality (Net Zero) by 2050 and, as a food company, is sequentially changing packaging materials with the goal of making all packaging recyclable and reusable by 2025. Through collaboration with GS Caltex, which has expertise in developing eco-friendly materials, we will continuously strive to provide sustainable value to more domestic consumers."

Meanwhile, GS Caltex continues its efforts to establish a resource circulation system where plastic production, consumption, and recycling are repeated through physical and chemical recycling of waste plastics. Since 2010, GS Caltex has been the only domestic refinery producing eco-friendly composite resin by continuously promoting physical recycling projects. Ten percent of the total composite resin production volume is made using waste plastics, and in November last year, GS Caltex became the first domestic refinery to obtain GRS certification for eco-friendly composite resin products.

Additionally, in December last year, GS Caltex launched a demonstration project that inputs pyrolysis oil derived from chemically recycled waste plastics into the petroleum refining process. Based on the results of this demonstration project, GS Caltex plans to seek investment to establish a new facility producing 50,000 tons of waste plastic pyrolysis oil annually, targeting operation in 2024, with further expansion goals up to 1 million tons.

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