Accelerating Asia’s plastics packaging circularity and collaborations across the supply chain

Closing the loop with mechanical & chemical recycling for higher quality recycled plastics 

The heavy burden of plastic waste has prompted government leaders, businesses, and consumers like us to weigh in on the need for a system-wide change to tackle this crisis.

The UNEP warns that 11 million metric tons of plastics are dumped into the oceans annually and without urgent action, this amount could triple in the next 20 years.

The Asian region accounts for a staggering amount of plastic waste leaked into the world’s oceans.

There is no doubt that Plastics is an important packaging material. Keeping them in use for as long as possible and preventing them from ever becoming waste is the principle for a circular plastics economy.

In Asia, many countries still are lacking behind on an effective waste management and support from a strong recycling industry.

However, there are reasons for optimism and the tide is changing.

As brandowners push on with sustainability commitments and usage of recycled plastics, plastics recycling projects in the region are ramping up and regulations for allowing recycled plastics for food contact packaging are rapidly evolving  .

It is predicted that Demand for food-grade rPET will grow rapidly, perhaps 10-15 times by 2030. 

Thailand publishes new standards for food contact plastics, effective Jan 3, 2023. ~`Food Packaging Forum - June 2, 2022

Hiroyuki Industries  to promote the usage of food grade certified RPET onto our bottled water manufacturing. Hiroyuki is the first in the ASEAN region who been certified food grade compliance on its RPET production.
~ Malaysia Bottled Water Manufacturers Association - Mar 22, 2021.

Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revised legislation allowing the use of rPET and recycled polyethylene naphthalate (rPEN) in food-contact materials as part of multilayer structures. ~ Recycling Today - Aug 20, 2021

As part of our 11th PET series, CMT has expanded its sustainable plastics packaging scope to cover a wider content. Attend Circular Plastics Packaging ASIA in Bangkok and share in  discussions on new pathways and solutions to enabling a transition to a circular plastics packaging economy.

Key highlights:

- Driving plastics circularity in Thailand – the way forward

- Is Asia ready for Plastics chemical recycling

- Thailand’s first food-grade recycling polymer plant  offering food grade PET, HDPE and PP (topic to be confirmed )

- Indonesia plastics recycling situation post Covid

- Strengthening plastic recycle supply chain through digitalized and modernized waste collection

- Regulatory Developments on Recycled Plastics for Food Packaging in China

- First bottle-to-bottle food grade recycling plant in Asean

- Suntory’s journey towards circular sustainable PET by 2030

- Creating a circular model for flexible plastic waste

- Development of the ReVentas technology for purification of waste PE for reuse in a circular economy

- Flexible PE recycling in Thailand – Challenges & Opportunities

- Circular plastics economy : Design challenges and solutions

- Bringing together all collaborators in the packaging supply chain to recover plastics waste packaging towards a circular economy – Philippines perspective

Plus 2 optional separately bookable site visits to Ecoblue Recycling Plant on 23rd Nov and Veolia Circular Polymers on 25th Nov.

Register now with hafizah@cmtsp.com.sg

- SOLD OUT - Separately Bookable Site Visit to  Ecoblue Thailand  Site Visit 1 - 23 November 2022 08:00 - 15:30 hrs.   EcoBlue’s second facility based at Rayong is the first of its kind in Asia which is capable of recycling various post-consumer plastic waste materials like PET water bottles, PP cups, HDPE milk jugs back into high quality resins suitable for food grade applications. With a capacity of 31,000 tons per annum for PET, at full output it shall be able to give a new life to 2.7 billion PET bottles. Along with this, it also has the capability to recycle 11,000 tons per annum of Polyolefin waste, which largely goes to landfill or for incineration. EcoBlue is fully committed to the problem of plastic waste in Thailand and recycles different kinds of post-consumer and post-industrial plastic waste, including difficult-to-recycle materials like packaging films and laminates. Registration to Ecoblue site visit is subject to approval by its management. Ecoblue reserves the right to approve or refuse participants for this visit.

- SOLD OUT - Separately Bookable Site Visit to  Veolia Circular Polymer  Site Visit 2 - 25 November 2022 13:30 - 17:00 hrs.   Veolia Circular Polymer recycles low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) plastic. It is one of Thailand’s largest LDPE recycling plants and operates in the highest level of compliance. The plant converts 22.5KT/Y of Thailand’s plastic packaging waste into high quality post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic as a long-term solution to the plastic pollution crisis, producing quality secondary materials for the plastic industry.