SK Geocentric Secures Supply of 'Recycled Plastic Raw Materials' Before Factory Construction Completion

Global Packaging Manufacturer Amco to Supply Raw Materials for Ulsan ARC Production Starting 2025

Before even building the factory, SK Geocentric secured a contract to supply recycled plastic raw materials to a global packaging company. SK Geocentric, which is set to complete the world's first comprehensive waste plastic recycling complex 'Ulsan ARC (Advanced Recycling Cluster)' in 2025, is receiving 'love calls' from various global companies seeking to secure recycled plastic raw materials.

On the 26th, SK Geocentric announced that it had signed a supply agreement with the global packaging company Amcor for plastic raw materials using pyrolysis oil derived from waste plastic. Pyrolysis oil is oil extracted by melting waste plastic waste, mainly waste vinyl, which was previously landfilled or incinerated. After a series of post-processing steps, it is possible to produce products of the same quality as chemical products extracted from crude oil.

Starting in 2025, SK Geocentric will supply polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) made from Ulsan ARC pyrolysis oil to Amcor. Amcor plans to manufacture packaging materials used for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food products with this raw material and sell them to global consumer goods companies. The two companies also agreed to continue additional cooperation related to packaging materials.

Polypropylene, used as a raw material for various packaging materials such as packaging containers. SK Geocentric will supply polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) made from Ulsan ARC pyrolysis oil as raw materials to Amco starting in 2025.
[Photo by SK Geocentric]

Amcor is a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and supplies a wide range of packaging materials used by various companies in food, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and more. As of last year, it operates 218 factories in 41 countries with over 41,000 employees and achieved annual sales of $14.7 billion (approximately 19 trillion KRW).

The number of companies supplied with recycled plastic raw materials from SK Geocentric's Ulsan ARC is expected to continue increasing. SK Geocentric is building the Ulsan ARC to enable recycling of various types of waste plastic (about 320,000 tons annually) by introducing not only pyrolysis processes but also depolymerization and high-purity PP extraction technologies.

Na Kyung-soo, President of SK Geocentric, said, “We are pleased to start cooperation based on Ulsan ARC products with Amcor, a leading global packaging company,” adding, “We will continue to contribute to building a circular economy by expanding the supply chain where pyrolysis oil produced from plastic waste is applied all the way to final consumer product packaging.”

Mike Cash, Chairman of Amcor Asia Pacific, said, “Amcor’s importance is increasing as it is responsible for supplying packaging materials containing recycled raw materials across various consumer product categories,” and added, “This business agreement will be an opportunity for Amcor not only to explore opportunities in the food and pharmaceutical packaging business but also to achieve the establishment of a circular economy that reduces the use of general-purpose plastics.”

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