Veolia and partners accelerate the circular economy with a new plant to recycle plastics for food-grade applications in Japan

• The plant will produce 25,000 tons of food-grade recycled PET resin per year, reducing 27,500 tons of CO2 emission and meeting brand owners’ increasing demand

• Introduction of Veolia's know-how in Japan to improve the processing of low-grade used PET bottles, which account for more than 50% of volumes generated in Japan, into food-grade recycled PET resin

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Veolia, in partnership with a global trading and investment company Mitsui & Co.,Ltd. and Japanese leading retail conglomerate Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd., proudly announces the inauguration of the Circular PET plant in Tsuyama, Japan. This state-of-the-art facility marks a significant milestone in realizing a circular business model that recycles used PET bottles into high-quality raw materials for Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.

This plant joins Plastiloop, a network of over 40 Veolia plastic recycling plants spread across the world. Veolia is the world leader in recycled plastic, with 500,000 metric tons of plastic recycled by 2023.

PET bottles with caps or labels left on or leftover drinks have been considered difficult for bottle-to-bottle recycling in Japan. Using Veolia’s experience and know-how, the Circular PET plant can effectively recycle such material and produce new food-grade PET bottles, contributing to a more sustainable future. The plant can produce 25,000 tons of food-grade recycled PET resin per year, reducing 27,500 tons of CO2 emission and meeting brand owners’ increasing demand.

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.

“Veolia is a historic global player in plastics recycling with over 30 years of experience. Through the Circular PET plant and in collaboration with local communities, Veolia contributes to "bottle-to-bottle" recycling in Japan, promoting the reduction of environmental impact and decarbonization. We are committed to accelerating ecological transformation in Japan.” says Guillaume Dourdin, President & Representative Director of Veolia Japan. 

FIND OUT MORE... Visit the Circular PET Website
https://cpet.co.jp/

ABOUT VEOLIA

Veolia's ambition is to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. With nearly 218,000 employees on five continents, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for managing water, waste and energy that help to radically change the world. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia contributes to developing access to resources, preserving available resources and renewing them. In 2023, the Veolia group served 113 million people with drinking water and 103 million with wastewater services, produced 42 terawatt-hours of energy and recovered 63 million metric tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) generated consolidated sales of €45.3 billion in 2023.

www.veolia.com