Indorama Ventures and Dhunseri Ventures have formed a joint venture with Varun Beverages, PepsiCo’s second-largest bottling company globally outside the US, to establish several greenfield state-of-the-art PET recycling facilities in India.
The joint venture has already begun the construction of two PET recycling facilities, planned for completion within 2025, with the potential for more to be built in the future.
The aim of the companies is to reach 100 kiloton annual capacity of recycled PET (rPET) across all the facilities when combined.
This initiative coincides with escalating demand for rPET content in India, driven in large part by regulators – with volumes projected to increase from approximately 400 kilotons in 2025-2026 to over 1 million tons by 2031.
Mandates such as the Indian government’s compulsory requirement of 30% recycled plastic content in plastic packaging by 2025-2026, escalating to 60% by 2028-2029, are of obvious relevance here.
Moreover, this move aims to cater to the needs of India’s beverage brand owners, many of whom have established ambitious goals in line with regulatory directions like their European counterparts.
Mr. Yash Lohia, representative of IVL Dhunseri, and Executive President Petchem Special Projects, and Chairman of the ESG Council of Indorama Ventures, states: ” As the world’s largest recycler of PET, this partnership underscores our steadfast commitment to sustainability and our support for the region’s escalating demand for rPET content.
“Anticipated to substantially diminish plastic waste, these new PET recycling facilities will convert post-consumer PET bottles into valuable resources. This initiative exemplifies the shared dedication of Indorama Ventures’ and Varun Beverages to creating a circular economy, promoting environmental sustainability, and meeting the rising consumer demand for eco-friendly products.”
Indorama claims to be the world’s largest producer of recycled PET resins widely used in food and beverage packaging, having operated PET recycling facilities since 2011.
The company says that it reached the milestone of recycling over 100 billion PET bottles across its history in 2023, and has also set itself the target of recycling 750,000 tons or 50 billion bottles annually by 2025.
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