Veolia has announced it has successfully commissioned a recycled PET plant in Tsuyama, Japan.
The ‘Circular PET’ plant is a joint venture between the French waste manager and Japan-based Mitsui, an investment company, and retail conglomerate Seven & i Holdings.
The facility has capacity to produce 25,000 tonnes of food-grade recycled PET resin per year, reducing 27,500 tons of CO2 emissions in comparison with virgin production. It will process low-grade used PET bottles, with caps or labels left on or leftover drinks, and recycle them into high-quality, food-grade resin. Low-grade PET bottles account for over 50% of PET bottles waste volume generated in Japan.
Veolia said the new factory, which was first announced in November 2021, will meet brand owners’ increasing demand for food-grade rPET. The plant joins Veolia’s network of over 40 plastic recycling plants spread across the world. In 2023, Veolia recycled 500,000 tonnes of plastic.
“Veolia is a historic global player in plastics recycling with over 30 years of experience,” said Guillaume Dourdin, president & representative director of Veolia Japan. “Through the Circular PET plant and in collaboration with local communities, Veolia contributes to ‘bottle-to-bottle’ recycling in Japan, promoting the reduction of environmental impact and decarbonisation,” he added.
The announcement comes after Veolia shut down its PET recycling facility in Rostock, Germany, in 2023, when the rPET market in Europe was characterised by low demand and prices. It is now showing signs of recovery with increased demand and higher prices.