Thailand's EcoBlue expands food-grade R-PET pellets capacity to 15,000 mt/year

Thailand's EcoBlue Limited has recently expanded its capacity for food-grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate pellets from 2,000 mt/year to 15,000 mt/year from its newly installed Starlinger viscoSTAR Solid State Polymerization equipment, a company source said Nov. 15.

The company received the letter of no objection, or LNO, from the US Food & Drug Administration, or FDA, for such food-grade R-PET pellets, the source added.

"EcoBlue [food-grade] R-PET can be used 100% for manufacturing of bottles for beverages -- water, CSD [carbonated soft drinks], personal care, cosmetics and home care, among other applications," the company said on its official LinkedIn account.

Recycled plastics are not allowed to be used for direct food contact in Thailand for now, so such high-quality R-PET pellets could only be used for non-food applications domestically, or exported for bottle applications, according to sources.

The company has a total R-PET capacity of around 32,000 mt/year post the expansion, including 15,000 mt/year food-grade pellets, and the remaining capacity for other R-PET applications like film, yarn, fiber and strap, the company source said.