Suntory brings direct PET recycling technology to Thailand

Suntory Holdings Limited will introduce its direct recycling technology in Thailand to begin manufacturing completely recycled PET bottles from 2028. This is the first time Suntory’s Flake to Preform® recycling technology will be deployed in Southeast Asia, paving the way for advanced resource circulation in regions with developing waste management systems.

To facilitate the rollout, Iwatani Corporation and Indorama Ventures PCL established a joint venture named Indovida (Thailand) Limited in July. The new facility will have an annual production capacity of approximately 400 million preforms. The joint venture will supply the entire production volume to Suntory Pepsico Beverage Thailand, which will subsequently introduce the recycled containers to its commercial product lines.

The Flake to Preform® technology skips the traditional pelletisation step in plastic recycling. Collected bottles are crushed into flakes, washed, melted at high temperatures, filtered, and directly moulded into preforms. Suntory jointly developed this patented method alongside Kyoei Industry Co., Ltd. and other partners. The process reduces carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 70 percent compared to manufacturing with virgin fossil fuels and has operated in Japan since 2018.

Japan relies on a strict and stable sorting system to ensure the quality of recycled materials. Because Thailand lacks an equivalent collection infrastructure, Suntory needed to ensure the technology could safely process lower quality input materials. The beverage company collaborated with equipment manufacturers NGR and Husky to adapt the system. The project team optimised the sorting criteria and decontamination processes specifically for the used PET bottles collected in Thailand, ensuring the final output matches the safety and quality standards achieved in Japan.

The deployment of adapted recycling technology in Thailand can be model for markets lacking advanced waste collection systems, and advance creating a foundation of a circular economy in developing regions.