• SK chemicals, Gunsan City, and Revelop sign MOU for waste banner resource recycling
• A new solution for waste resources typically incinerated, using circular recycling technology

SK chemicals is joining hands with the local government to address the issue of waste banners.

SK chemicals (CEO Ahn Jae-hyun) announced on the 27th that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for establishing a “Textile To Textile (T2T) Recycling Ecosystem” to reuse waste banners as banner fabric through chemical recycling technology. The signing ceremony took place at SK chemicals' headquarters in Pangyo, attended by Gunsan City's Deputy Mayor Shin Won-sik, Revelop CEO Lee Jun-seo, and SK chemicals' Business Development Division Head Kim Hyun-suk.

This marks the first project in Korea where a chemical company recycles waste banners into fibers using chemical recycling technology.

Under the agreement, Gunsan City, SK chemicals, and Revelop will establish a system to reuse recycled fibers from waste banners for creating new banners. To this end, Gunsan City will provide collected banners to SK chemicals, which will use chemical recycling technology to produce circular recycled PET. Revelop will then use this circular recycled material to manufacture banner fabric and develop various products. During the signing ceremony, participants demonstrated their commitment to cooperation by signing a document made from recycled fabric created from Gunsan City's waste banners.

Circular recycling refers to SK chemicals' recycled plastic business, which recycles plastic to create new plastic materials. Based on depolymerization technology, this method returns waste plastic to its pure raw material state in order to manufacture plastic with the same quality and physical properties as petroleum-based plastics. Unlike physical recycling methods where materials are discarded after a single use, this method is recognized for enabling repeated recycling.

The company expects this “Textile To Textile” model to establish a new ecosystem that continuously recycles banners as resources, going beyond existing one-time upcycling methods.

Most banners are primarily made from plastic synthetic fibers, which do not decompose well when landfilled and release large amounts of harmful substances like greenhouse gases and carcinogens when incinerated. The amount of waste banners generated by local governments nationwide is estimated at about 6,000 tons. These discarded banners are difficult to recycle and are mostly incinerated. While some are upcycled into shopping bags, garbage collection bags, and eco-bags, these products are also incinerated or landfilled after use.

In contrast, the circular recycling solution allows collected waste banners to be processed into PET fibers for banner production. When discarded again, they can be recycled once more, establishing a sustainable resource circulation structure.

Shin Won-sik, Deputy Mayor of Gunsan City, said, "Through cooperation with SK chemicals, which is uniquely commercializing chemical recycling in Korea, we expect waste banners to be recycled as sustainable resources." He added, "We will work together with SK chemicals to address various waste issues in our city, not just waste banners."

Lee Jun-seo, CEO of Revelop, stated, "Through collaboration with SK chemicals and Gunsan City, Revelop will fulfill its role in the grand goal of establishing a resource circulation ecosystem for waste banners. We plan to develop various products starting with banners, using circular recycled PET."

Kim Hyun-suk, Head of the Business Development Division at SK chemicals, said, "Collaboration with various stakeholders, including local governments, is necessary to turn waste into resources. We will make company-wide efforts to establish this agreement as a successful model for resource circulation business through corporate-local government cooperation, while accelerating the establishment of a circular ecosystem through cooperation between government agencies and companies."

[Photo description: An MOU signing ceremony for establishing a Textile To Textile (T2T) recycling ecosystem was held at SK chemicals' headquarters in Pangyo, Seongnam City. (From left) Kim Hyun-suk, Head of the Business Development Division at SK chemicals, Shin Won-sik, Deputy Mayor of Gunsan City, and Lee Jun-seo, CEO of Revelop, pose for a commemorative photo after signing the MOU.]