Tokyo, September 3, 2024—PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. which belongs to JEPLAN Group, is announcing the brand name “HELIX™” for its recycled PET resin, produced with proprietary PET chemical recycling technology*1. In line with its announcement, PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY is launching a brand website introducing products of major Japanese beverage and cosmetics companies that have adopted the recycled PET*2 resin HELIX™.
HELIX™ Brand Website: https://helix.pet/en/
Due to growing awareness on environmental issues, recycled materials have seen a rise in demand in recent years around the globe. Europe is currently deliberating regulations that would require plastic packaging to incorporate recycled contents, to be implemented in two phases: a minimum of 30% from 2030, and a minimum of 50% from 2040*3. In Japan, the Japan Soft Drink Association has announced a declaration to increase Bottle-to-Bottle recycling (processing used PET bottles back into new PET bottles; also known as “horizontal recycling” in Japan) to make up over 50% of PET bottles sold by 2030*4. In order to realize circular economy, it is essential to not only assertively incorporate recycled materials, but to also sustain its continuous recycling after use, promoting circulation of our globe's limited resources.
Generally, used PET bottles contain a large amount of impurities, making it difficult to recycle them back into PET bottles. PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY (Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan) utilizes proprietary technology to process used PET bottles collected from across Japan, breaking them down at a molecular level and removing impurities like coloring and metals to then produce recycled PET resin as material for recycled PET bottles. This recycled PET resin possesses quality equivalent to that of petroleum-derived PET resin, making it suitable as material for PET bottles and cosmetic containers. Additionally, this recycling process has been found to contribute to reducing CO2 emissions compared to manufacturing processes of petroleum-derived materials*5.
And now, with the aim of further spreading recycled materials, PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY is announcing the brand name “HELIX™” for its recycled PET resin. HELIX™ has been widely adopted in PET bottles and cosmetic packaging for products of beverage/cosmetics companies looking to incorporate recycled materials as a part of their environmental efforts. By establishing a brand name, PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY aims to further promote adoption of recycled materials, as well as widely appeal the Brand Concept of “infinitely circulating” technology and products. By gaining more recognition among consumers who ultimately purchase these products featuring recycled materials, we aim to realize an “Economy of Infinite Circulation.”
At JEPLAN Group, we will continue being committed to realizing our Mission of "We circulate our world" and actively work to strengthen relations with our domestic/overseas partners, leading efforts towards achieving a circular economy together as a Group.
■ Companies/Products Featuring HELIX™ (URL: https://helix.pet/en/blogs/case-study) *Alphabetical order
Our brand website lists products that feature HELIX™, resin that circulates infinitely.
- Asahi Soft Drinks Co., Ltd.
- Attenir CORPORATION
- FANCL CORPORATION
- Kao Corporation
- Kirin Brewery Company, Limited
- KOSÉ Corporation
- Shiseido Company, Limited
*1 JEPLAN’s Technology: https://www.jeplan.co.jp/en/technology/
*2 PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
*3 Provisional agreement on packaging and packaging waste (Council of the EU):
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-7859-2024-INIT/en/pdf
*4 Declaration for 50% Ratio of Bottle-to-Bottle by 2030 (Japan Soft Drink Association):
https://www.j-sda.or.jp/news/2021/04/19/post-568/
*5 JEPLAN’s Sustainability: https://www.jeplan.co.jp/en/sustainability/
■ PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (https://www.prt.jp/en/))
PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. is a JEPLAN group company that manufactures and sells recycled PET resin. This PET resin is produced from used PET bottles to become the primary ingredient for recycled PET bottles using the proprietary chemical recycling technology, which has only several cases of commercialization even on a global scale. PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY possesses over ten years of experience in plant operation. JEPLAN acquired the commercial plant PET REFINE TECHNOLOGY located in Kawasaki, Japan in 2018, and resumed operations in 2021.
【Press Release (PDF)】