• The company will push its production of ECOTRIA CR, with the company’s top waste plastic recycling technology
• The company plans to lead the eco-friendly trend in the global packaging market by focusing on cosmetic containers

SK chemicals has begun full-scale mass-production and supply of chemical recycled copolyester in the cosmetic packaging market.

SK chemicals (CEO: Jeon Kwang-hyun) announced on the 2nd that the company began its mass production of copolyester ECOTRIA CR, marking the world’s first use of this game-changing chemical recycling technology. This milestone was achieved only two years after the company showcased the ECOTRIA R using the physical recycling technology in K 2019, the world’s largest Trade Fair for Plastics in Düsseldorf, Germany in 2019.

Although chemical recycling has been regarded as a core technology to build a circular plastic economy, no other company in the world has built a plastic mass production system based on chemical recycling technology. This is because a stable supply and demand network for waste plastics must be secured for commercialization, and high technology is required to separate and purify the desired chemicals through the innovative decomposition process. SK chemicals has been developing the chemical recycling solution for three years, predicting that plastic regulations around the world will be strengthened. In particular, the company has invested in Shuye, a Chinese waste plastic recycling company, to secure a stable supply chain of chemical recycling raw material, which it considers vital to the success of the industry. From this, SK chemicals secured 20,000 tons of raw materials and established a mass production system.

“Sustainable Packaging Solution” (hereafter SPS), the industry’s best eco-friendly packaging lineup, has been completed, following the launch of ECOTRIA CR. The lineup consists of ▲ ECOTRIA CR, which uses recycled chemical raw materials ▲ ECOTRIA R, which uses post-consumer recycled (PCR) ▲ Claro, which can be recycled into PET after use by consumers.

It is a very urgent task for all countries, including those in Europe, to reduce and recycle plastic waste. For this reason, plastic recycling and eco-friendly packaging materials are being actively used in the global cosmetics industry by such leaders as L'Oreal, Estee Lauder, and Chanel. L’Oréal plans to replace the plastic packaging in its products with packaging made from recycled or bio-based raw materials by 2025, and replace its use of all plastics by 2030.

SK chemicals is accelerating its entry into the Korean and international cosmetic packaging market by promoting the excellent qualities of ECOTRIA CR, such as transparency, appearance, chemical resistance, and eco-friendliness.

In particular, the company plans to produce more than 10,000 tons of chemical recycling product ECOTRIA CR this year and the next, and begin supplying it to the owners of major Korean and international cosmetic brands. To this end, in September, SK chemicals conducted a series of promotional activities to introduce the chemical recycling product ECOTRIA CR in China (Shanghai) and Europe (Monaco). In China, the SPS seminar was successfully held in the presence of representatives of packaging and raw materials companies and cosmetic companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Estee Lauder, and L'Oreal. At Luxe Pack Monaco 2021, the European cosmetics exhibition, the SPS was introduced, and a chemical recycling cosmetic container jointly developed with Texen was exhibited, attracting attention from cosmetic companies such as Chanel and Bulgari.

SK chemicals plans to increase the sales ratio of SPS materials to 50% by 2025 and 100% by 2030. The chemical recycling product ECOTRIA CR can realize the same physical properties as new products. It has a high degree of safety, so the need for ECOTRIA CR is rapidly increasing in the food packaging, home appliance, and household goods markets in addition to cosmetic containers.

Kim Eung-soo, head of SK chemicals’ copolyester business, said, “We expect Korean companies to preoccupy the rapidly increasing recycling plastics market as we succeeded in the mass production of chemical recycling copolyester for the first time in the world,” and, “We will widen the gap with other companies through continuous quality improvement and application development for mass-produced products.”


# Photo description: Ulsan Plant Chemical Recycling Copolyester Mass Production Success Event