Circular PET Bottle-to-Bottle Recycling Line in Japan

Circular PET Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Veolia, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. Their PET bottle recycling plant in Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, commenced operation early in 2024, leveraging washing technology from Boretech. The plant recycles low-grade waste PET bottles into food-grade PET flakes and pellets, with the capacity to produce about 25,000 tons of recycled PET resin per year, equivalent to the raw materials for about 1 billion PET bottles, reducing 27,500 tons of co2 emission and meeting brand owners' increasing demand.

Though Japan's stringent recycling guidelines require consumers to wash and remove labels from bottles before disposal, which ensures the cleanliness of the recyclables, PET bottles collected from curbside contain more impurities. Recycling these PET bottles requires better washing processes and plastic recycling equipment. The PET bottle recycling system in the new plant is tailor-made for them by Boretech, designed explicitly for low-grade waste PET bottles that are not so clean in the Japanese market.

Based on the successful cooperation in the Veolia PET recycling project in Indonesia in 2018, Circular PET entrusted Boretech to provide the PET recycling washing equipment and engineering services for the new plant. In combination with the characteristics of these PET bottles, we re-integrated and upgraded the equipment and technology based on the Veolia Indonesia project.

The advanced recycling plant has strict requirements for engineering design. At the beginning of the submission of the project proposal, we conducted in-depth technical exchanges and discussions with customers, and continuously improved the design of the proposal to meet the customer's needs. Thanks to the unremitting efforts and close coordination of different divisions, especially the Engineering Division, we finally customized a complete PET bottle recycling and washing solution for the customer. The washing line can process 6 tons/hour of waste PET bottles, and the flake production capacity reaches 4.5 tons/hour. The quality of the flakes fully meets the requirements of food contact applications.

To ensure a steady supply of raw materials, Circular PET has established partnerships with key players in the industry, including the West Japan Railway Company and Kyushu Japan Railway Company. These partnerships enable the collection of used PET bottles, which are then sorted, crushed, washed, melted, and subjected to solid-state polymerization to produce high-quality recycled PET resin.

Circular PET is not merely an international company, but a beacon of hope for a sustainable future. Through its project, it strives to devote itself to the circular economy, reduce the environmental impact of plastic pollution, promote decarbonization, and leave a better living place for generations to come.