JEPLAN Group and Asahi Soft Drinks to produce rPET from used PET bottles manufactured by chemical recycling
JEPLAN, Inc., together with its group company PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd., and Asahi Soft Drinks Co., Ltd., report a technological development in chemical recycling that enables the production of recycled PET resin using used PET bottles as the sole feedstock. According to the companies, the process does not rely on petroleum-derived inputs and is intended to support the further development of circular PET material flows.
Starting this month, Asahi Soft Drinks will begin partially using recycled PET resin produced with this technology in its “CALPIS SODA 1.5L” bottles, initially on a trial basis. The companies plan to continue developing the technology with the goal of full commercialisation by 2029.
The JEPLAN Group employs proprietary chemical recycling technology to break down used PET bottles to the molecular level and remove impurities, producing HELIX, a recycled PET resin with quality comparable to petroleum-based products. Previously, this process required some petroleum-derived feedstocks, but the recent development allows high-quality PET resin to be produced solely from used PET bottles, says the company.
Asahi Soft Drinks has set a goal of using recycled or plant-derived PET bottles for all PET bottles by 2030 in order to address environmental issues such as plastic resource recycling and the marine plastic problem. The three companies will continue to promote further use of HELIX and work on technological innovation to realize Asahi Soft Drinks’ goal of “a society where PET bottles continue to circulate”. The JEPLAN Group will continue to promote collaboration with partners in Japan and overseas.
About HELIX
HELIX is a recycled material produced mainly from used PET bottles using proprietary PET chemical recycling technology, which breaks down PET to the molecular level and removes impurities to achieve the same quality as petroleum-based PET resin. According to JEPLAN, it can be used for applications that require high quality standards, such as beverage PET bottles and cosmetic containers.