Japan startup to give new life to one-of-a-kind recycling plant

Facility for plastic bottles allows reuse of same materials over and over

20210515N plastic recycling plant

JEPLAN's plant in Kawasaki recycles plastic bottles. (Photo courtesy of the company)

EISAKU NITTA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- A Japanese startup will soon bring online a refurbished plant that it claims is the world's sole facility for chemical recycling of plastic bottles.

JEPLAN's plant in Kawasaki uses chemical recycling, in which used plastic bottles are chemically reduced into monomers -- or molecules that can be bonded other identical molecules to form a polymer. This contrasts with traditional recycling, where plastic bottles are washed and melted.

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