Indorama Ventures has completed the expansion of its post-consumer PET polymer recycling plant in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, almost tripling capacity from an annual 9,000 to 25,000 tons.

The project is part of the Thai-headquartered company’s goal of investing $1.5 billion to increase its recycling capacity to 50 billion PET bottles per year by 2025.

PET is a unique and widely used plastic for beverage bottles and the most recycled plastic in the world, with around 8-9 million tons currently recycled into fibres for textiles and nonwovens annually.

 Indorama has invested US$20 million to optimise processes and acquire new equipment such as washing machines to help remove labels, grind bottles in water and reduce water consumption by 70% at the Brazilian plant. The investment was supported by a Blue Loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank.

In November 2020, the IFC provided $300 million in Blue Loan funding to Indorama with the objective of increasing recycling capacity and diverting plastic waste from landfills and oceans in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, India, and Brazil – countries grappling with mismanaged waste and serious plastic waste in the environment.

Blue Loan funds are certified and tracked for projects that support the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health. Indorama Ventures secured a total of $2.4 billion in long-term sustainable financing from various financial institutions between 2018-2022 to support sustainability projects.

“It is extremely gratifying to leverage the IFC’s generous funding to invest in important projects that build on Indorama’s leadership in sustainability,” said CEO DK Agarwal. “We are grateful to IFC for this Blue Loan reinforcing Brazil’s importance as a forerunner in sustainability.”

Indorama Ventures has around 26,000 employees worldwide and had sales of $18.7 billion in 2022. The company’s portfolio comprises combined PET, integrated oxides and derivatives and fibres. Products serve major FMCG and automotive sectors in the beverages, hygiene, personal care, tyre and safety segments.

www.indoramaventures.com