Toyotsu PET Recycling Systems Co., Ltd. ("Toyotsu PET Recycling Systems") announced today that it held a ceremony on October 22 to celebrate the completion of its new horizontal PET bottle recycling plant.

Toyotsu PET Recycling Systems, a manufacturing company of recycled PET for beverage bottles, was jointly established in 2020 by Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("Toyota Tsusho"), Utsumi Recycle Systems Inc., Chuo Warehouse Co., Ltd. and others.

In Japan, approximately 97% of disposed PET bottles are collected, of which 88.5% are recycled (98% as an effective utilization rate when heat recovery included). However, only 15.7% of PET bottles are horizontally recycled from PET bottle to PET bottle*.

Toyotsu PET Recycling Systems started its full-scale operation at the beginning of October this year. It will contribute to the circular economy through horizontal recycling of disposed PET bottles in Japan, which were previously exported overseas. The plant aims to produce approximately 40,000 tons of recycled PET resin annually for PET bottles.

Toyotsu PET Recycling Systems and Toyota Tsusho contribute to providing consumer convenience, as well as to the realization of a circular economy, by promoting the horizontal recycling of PET bottles in order to pass on a better global environment to the children of the future.

*Reference: PET Bottle Recycling Annual Report 2021 (The Council for PET Bottle Recycling)