SUEZ today announced the official opening of the SUEZ Circular Polymer Plant in Bang Phli, Thailand – the Group’s first plastic recycling plant in Asia. It underscores SUEZ’s ambition to commit to improving the environment and building a more sustainable society despite the unprecedented times we are in due to COVID-19. The plant converts 30,000 tonnes of Thailand’s plastic packaging waste a year into post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic as a long-term solution to the plastic pollution crisis. It also has one of the highest water reuse rates for recycling plants in Thailand at 94%, and avoids 35,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to planting 1.5 million trees. 

The world produces 300 million tonnes of plastic every year, and 50% of it is used as packaging. Globally, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into the ocean, of which Southeast Asia is a major contributor. In Thailand, only about one quarter of its 2 million tonnes of plastic waste is recycled per year. 

“We need to rethink the ways we use and treat plastic. While plastic brings convenience to our everyday lives, it comes with the alarming consequence of millions of tonnes of waste in our oceans, resulting in adverse environmental impact and health effect as well as resultant economic losses,” said Steve Clark, CEO of SUEZ Asia. “We call for a long-term approach and such solutions already exist in our communities today. We are excited to open the Group’s first plastic recycling facility outside of Europe that will help encourage Southeast Asia to transform towards a circular economy and reverse the tidal wave of plastic pollution crisis. We look forward to working closely with all actors of the plastics value chain to bring us closer to a plastic free ocean.”

The SUEZ Circular Polymer Plant recycles low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) plastic. It is one of Thailand’s largest LDPE recycling plants and operates in the highest level of compliance. It is strongly supported by the experience of specialists from PLAST’lab®, SUEZ’s plastic laboratory originated from France, that allows the plant to qualify, characterise, measure and formulate new recycled plastics to fit customer’s specific needs.

Producing 1 tonne of recycled plastic saves 5 barrels of oil, which is equivalent to 1.6 tonnes of CO2. Each year, SUEZ processes nearly 400,000 tonnes of plastic waste in nine specialist facilities around the world and produces 150,000 tonnes of circular polymers. 

SUEZ is a founding member of the international Alliance to End Plastic Waste, and part of Thailand’s Public Private Partnership for Sustainable Plastic and Waste Management (Thai PPP Plastics) to collaborate with stakeholders to help protect the ocean and conserve the environment.