BoReTech to launch China’s first PET tray-to-tray recycling plant

CHINA — Boretech is set to commission China’s first PET tray-to-tray recycling facility in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, in the first quarter of 2026, marking a major milestone in food-grade PET recycling beyond conventional bottles.

The facility, named Suplas, is in its final installation phase and is designed to process 28,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET trays annually, producing hot-washed flakes suitable for food-contact thermoforming and enabling closed-loop tray-to-tray recycling.

Currently, most of China’s PET trays are downcycled, reflecting a broader global challenge in developing food-grade recycling pathways.

China’s recently issued 2026 Action Plan for Recycled Materials sets a target of 19.5 million tonnes of plastic recycling by 2030, highlighting the urgent need for high-quality recycling routes for non-bottle PET.

Similar gaps are seen internationally: Europe’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) mandates 30% recycled content in sensitive PET by 2030, yet ICIS reports that only 300,000 of 1.07 million tonnes of PET trays were recycled in 2022, with dedicated tray-to-tray capacity across the Netherlands, Spain, and France totaling just 57,000 tonnes.

In North America, Napcor data indicates roughly 120,000 tonnes of PET thermoforms were recycled in 2024.

Alan Ou, Vice General Manager of Boretech, highlighted the technical advances behind the Suplas plant, “The process incorporates advanced material separation technology, intensive hot washing, and an aspirator for label and impurity removal, minimizing PET material losses.”

He added that Boretech leveraged its extensive PET bottle recycling experience, supported by operational data from over 320 recycling lines processing more than 5.9 million tonnes of PET bottles annually, to overcome the unique challenges of tray recycling.

Ou emphasized that the Suplas project represents a scalable solution for food-grade PET tray recycling and could serve as a technical reference for other markets.

“As regulators and brand owners explore pathways to higher recycled content and closed-loop solutions, this project provides a model for achieving high-quality circularity in PET trays.”

The launch of Suplas comes amid growing industry efforts to close the loop on PET packaging. Earlier in 2025, Veolia and Loop Industries expanded food-grade PET recycling in Europe, while Eastman Chemical enhanced its molecular recycling capacity for PET trays in the U.S., reflecting a global trend toward sustainable, high-value recycling.

With Suplas, Boretech is positioning China at the forefront of food-grade PET tray recycling, helping bridge the gap between regulatory targets and current recycling capacity while advancing the circular economy in the packaging sector.

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