Technological watch

New Karawang facility to recycle 2 billion PET plastic bottles annually

Thailand-based Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), one of the world’s largest producer of recycled PET for beverage bottles, announced it will build a facility in Karawang, West Java, to recycle almost 2 billion plastic bottles a year in support of the government’s plan to reduce ocean debris.

The facility, which is planned to launch in 2023, will recycle 1.92 billion PET bottles annually and create 217 new jobs. It is part of IVL’s global commitment to divert post-consumer PET bottles away from waste and back into the circular economy, supporting the Government of Indonesia’s National Plan of Action on Marine Plastic Debris. The recycling plant will provide the washed and shredded post-consumer bottles as PET flake feedstock to produce recycled resin that is suitable for food contact use.

“The unique PET plastic used in soft drinks and water bottles is 100% recyclable and must never end up in our oceans. Today we are announcing a new PET recycling facility in Karawang. It will recycle 1.92 billion post-consumer PET bottles per year from across Indonesia by the end of 2023”, Yashovardhan Lohia, Chief Sustainability Officer at Indorama Ventures, said. “We are pleased to contribute to the Indonesian economy by adding 217 ‘green jobs’ as well as indirect employment to the area. Today’s announcement is possible because of Indonesia’s ambitious national plan to reduce marine plastic debris by 70%, reduce solid waste by 30%, and handle 70% of solid waste by 2025”.

“The Indonesia Government’s leadership on waste allows us to invest in the infrastructure needed. Giving waste an economic value, as feedstock for new bottles, also drives improvements in waste collection systems. By building the infrastructure to recycle post-consumer PET bottles into new bottles, we are reducing waste and preserving our oceans. This new recycling facility will support our shared goal of closed-loop solutions and clean oceans”, D K Agarwal, CEO of Combined PET, IOD and Fibers Business at Indorama Ventures, added.

“I appreciate the initiative of Indorama Ventures to help the government to end and mitigate the plastic waste crisis through their investment in this greenfield recycling facility. It is time for the government, and all of us, to take action and address the waste problem. We invite more investors who are committed to social impacts for the community and environment. Together we must safeguard the richness of our marine biodiversity for our children and grandchildren”, Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Investment of the Republic of Indonesia, said.

Indorama Ventures has six Indonesian sites across Purwakarta, Cilegon, Tangerang and Karawang. With this new recycling facility, IVL brings a circular business model to support our Indonesian operations. In 2019 Indorama Ventures announced it aims to recycle a minimum of 750,000 metric tons of PET globally by 2025, investing up to 1.5 billion dollars to achieve this goal. IVL’s new plant in Karawang, along with its other recycling facilities in Southeast Asia, will work with existing PET flake production facilities in Indonesia.



Publication date: 14/07/2021

Macplas

This project has been co-funded with the support of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union [LIFE17 ENV/ES/000438] Life programme

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Last update: 2022-01-31