Indorama Ventures purchases 85% equity stake in Czech pet recycler

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), the world’s largest producer of recycled PET for beverage bottles, announced the completion of a deal for an 85% equity stake in Czech Republic-based PET plastic recycler, UCY Polymers CZ s.r.o. (UCY), bolstering the country’s and Europe’s plastic collection and recycling ambitions.

As a result of the investment, IVL will recycle approximately 1.12 billion more post-consumer PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles in the Czech Republic each year by 2025, bringing the total number of bottles recycled by UCY to the Czech Republic, Germany, and Central Europe to 1.6 billion bottles per year. IVL, a global sustainable chemicals company, is investing USD1.5 billion in global recycling facilities and sustainable production, including increasing recycling capacity to 750,000 tonnes per year by 2025.

UCY is a strategic fit for IVL as a backward integration into the company’s growing recycled PET (rPET) presence in Europe and globally to obtain feedstock for rPET products. UCY has the capacity to generate 40,000 tonnes of recycled PET flake per year. IVL will create UCY to meet Europe’s growing need for recycled PET.

UCY will collaborate with IVL’s existing PET flake manufacturing plants in the region. These supply washed and shredded post-consumer bottles as PET flake feedstock for the production of recycled PET resin appropriate for food contact use. PET is completely recyclable, and it is the most collected and recycled plastic packaging in Europe.

D K Agarwal, CEO and CFO at Indorama Ventures, said that IVL will use its know-how to enhance capacity and recycle more and more bottles. They’re building the recycling infrastructure needed to divert PET waste from the environment as part of their commitment to sustainability and the circular economy. They provide waste economic value by recycling post-consumer PET bottles into fresh bottles. This improves waste collection systems, resulting in less waste and a cleaner environment.

Yash Lohia, Chairman of ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, said that their relationship will strengthen the recycling ecosystem in the Czech Republic. This expansion is made possible by their customers’ dedication to bottle-to-bottle recycling, which enables them to build the recycling infrastructure that Europe requires.

Maximilian Josef Söllner, CEO, UCY, said that they look forward to integrating their robust supply of post-consumer bottles, well-established technology, and proven management team to IVL. By increasing their capacity by 2025, they will recycle an additional 896 million bottles than they do now.