PureCycle partners with Mitsui to bring advanced recycling of PP to Japan

PureCycle Technologies signed a memorandum of understanding with Tokyo-based Mitsui & Co.
to develop a facility in Japan to produce what it calls ultra-pure recycled polypropylene (UPRP)
.

U.
S.
-based PureCycle uses a patented recycling process developed by Procter & Gamble to convert waste PP from various sources into virgin-like UPRP
.
The technology is a physical purification process that uses non-toxic solvents to extract color, odor and contaminants from recycled waste PP, resulting in recycled PP of extremely high purity and consistent quality
.

News of the MOU with Mitsui followed a similar announcement last month, saying it had signed a memorandum of understanding with SK Chemicals to explore the feasibility of building a PP recycling plant in South Korea
.

"At PureCycle, we sincerely believe that we can change the way society thinks about plastic," PureCycle CEO Mike Otworth said in a video announcing the memorandum of understanding, "We want you to see plastic as an ultra-pure, infinitely sustainable material
.
To that end, PureCycle is working with the best partners around the world.

PureCycle aims to recycle 1 billion pounds of plastic by 2025.

I know that working with Japan's Mitsui & Co.
will help us achieve our goal of reducing plastic waste globally Vision
.
"

PureCycle closed financing for its flagship recycling facility in Ironton, Ohio in October 2020
.
Construction of the plant is well underway and commercial production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022
.
The first plant is expected to produce more than 105 million pounds of UPRP annually
.
PureCycle has pre-sold rPP output from its Ohio plant for more than 20 years, and in July announced the location of its first cluster facility in Augusta, Georgia
.
The site will have up to five processing lines capable of producing up to 650 million pounds of rPP, meeting PureCycle's goal of 1 billion pounds
.
Work on the cluster facility has begun in the second quarter of 2021 and construction will begin in the first quarter of 2022
.