Indorama Ventures has now recycled 100 billion post-consumer PET bottles since February 2011, diverting 2.1 million tons of waste from environment and saving 2.9 million tons of carbon emissions from the product lifecycles.

Demonstrating its commitment to supporting the establishment of a circular economy for PET, the company has spent more than $1 billion towards the waste collection of used PET bottles in the past ten years.

“As we mark the recycling of 100 billion PET bottles, we want to thank consumers for recycling, and global brand owners for using recyclable and recycled packaging while also increasing collection rates,” said Aloke Lohia, founder and CEO of Indorama Ventures. “The scale of the waste challenge requires us all to do more, faster. In March 2020, we announced the milestone of 50 billion PET bottles recycled in nine years. We hit the 100 billion mark in just three and a half years.

“By recycling post-consumer PET bottles into new bottles, we give waste an economic value. This drives improvements in waste collection systems, meaning less waste and a cleaner environment. We pledge to continue our long-term focus on circularity.”

The company has also committed a further $1.5 billion to expanding its recycling business. To support increased recycling rates globally, Indorama has expanded its recycling facilities, infrastructure and public education programmes. The unique PET plastic used in soft drinks and water bottles is fully recyclable and is collected in practice and at scale. As a result, PET is the most recycled plastic in the world, and the company’s recycling achievements support that. Building on its position as the world’s largest producer of recycled resin used in plastic beverage bottles, Indorama is also seeking advanced technologies to deliver more recycling infrastructure globally and reduce lifecycle carbon emissions.

The company now has 20 recycling sites in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Recent developments include doubling the capacity of a recycling site in Brazil and the opening of PETValue – the largest bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in the Philippines – in partnership with Coca-Cola. Both were funded with part of a $300 million ‘Blue Loan’ received in 2020 from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The loan has the objective of increasing recycling capacity and diverting plastic waste from landfills and oceans in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India and Brazil – countries seeking support in managing environmental waste.

“Reaching this milestone is a testament to our planet’s growing commitment to sustainability,” Lohia said. “Each of these bottles represents a reduction in waste, and a step towards a world where no packaging ends up as litter or waste. This shows the positive change that can occur when we work together to support PET recycling and strive for a more circular world.”

www.indorama.com