HELIX™: Recycled PET resin from PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY

PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., a member of the JEPLAN Group, has branded its recycled PET resin as HELIX™, a product that utilizes proprietary PET chemical recycling technology^*1. The company also launched a website to showcase the products from prominent Japanese beverage and cosmetics companies that incorporate this recycled PET^*2 resin.

By establishing the new brand name, PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY aims to promote adoption of recycled materials, as well as to appeal the brand concept of “infinitely circulating” technology and products. By earning greater recognition among consumers who purchase products made with recycled materials, the company advocates for an "Economy of Infinite Circulation."

Rising demand for recycled materials

Across the globe, consumers increasingly demand recycled materials. Europe is currently deliberating regulations that would require plastic packaging to incorporate recycled contents, to be implemented in two phases: a minimum of 30% from 2030, and a minimum of 50% from 2040^*3.

The Japan Soft Drink Association has announced a declaration to increase Bottle-to-Bottle recycling (processing used PET bottles back into new PET bottles; also known as “horizontal recycling” in Japan) to make up over 50% of PET bottles sold by 2030^*4.

To realize a circular economy, it is essential to assertively incorporate recycled materials, and sustain continuous recycling after use. The challenge with recycling used PET bottles lies in the significant amount of impurities that must be removed during the process of converting them into new PET bottles.

For this, PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY’s proprietary technology breaks down used PET at a molecular level and removes impurities like coloring and metals, and subsequently manufactures recycled PET resin for the production of recycled PET bottles. The quality of the recycled PET resin is equivalent to that of petroleum-derived PET resin, rendering it appropriate for use in manufacturing PET bottles and cosmetic containers. Additionally, this recycling process has been found to contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions compared to manufacturing processes of petroleum-derived materials^*5.

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¹JEPLAN’s Technology: https://www.jeplan.co.jp/en/technology/
²PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
³Provisional agreement on packaging and packaging waste (Council of the EU):
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-7859-2024-INIT/en/pdf
⁴Declaration for 50% Ratio of Bottle-to-Bottle by 2030 (Japan Soft Drink Association): https://www.j-sda.or.jp/news/2021/04/19/post-568/
⁵JEPLAN’s Sustainability: https://www.jeplan.co.jp/en/sustainability/