Thailand-based Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. (IVL) has announced plans to install capacity to recycle and reprocess 10 billion postconsumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles per year by 2023, using in part what it calls “new and expanded facilities” in France and Poland. Source: Recycling Today

IVL says it is investing to recycle PET bottles that will be purchased “from across Europe.” A new investment in Verdun, France, that will see more than 1.7 billion additional PET plastic recycled, builds on existing capacity and has been made in coordination with soft drink association UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe. UNESDA member companies have committed to using recycled PET (rPET) in their bottles, according to IVL.

“Today we are announcing a new recycling facility in Verdun, France, and expansion of two recently acquired facilities in Bielsku-Białej and Łęczycy, Poland,” states François Lagrue of Indorama Ventures Recycling Group. “Combined with our existing European facilities, IVL will recycle almost 10 billion post-consumer PET plastic bottles in Europe per year by 2023. This will lend significant support in realizing the EU’s plastic collection and recycling targets.”

The Verdun plant will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to IVL.

Lagrue adds, “This investment in recycling is made possible because of our customers. Their commitment to bottle-to-bottle recycling allows us to invest in the infrastructure Europe needs. These new and expanded recycling facilities will support our shared goal of closed-loop and sustainable packaging solutions.”

Remarks Nicholas Hodac of UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe, “We welcome this investment in Europe’s circular economy. Europe’s soft drinks industry is working hard to drive sustainability throughout its value chain, from sourcing, production and distribution through to packaging, collection, recycling and reuse. This investment is another proof point that circularity works in Europe. By delivering a closed-loop system we ensure that valuable secondary raw material is not wasted, and we achieve a well-functioning EU market.”

In 2019, Indorama Ventures announced it would be aiming for a minimum of 750,000 metric tons of rPET capacity globally by 2025, investing up to $1.5 billion to achieve that goal.

IVL’s new plant in Verdun, along with recent acquisitions in Bielsku-Białej and Łęczycy, Poland, will join existing PET flake production facilities in Europe. The Polish facilities provide washed and shredded PET flake feedstock to produce rPET resin designed to be suitable for food-contact use.