Vietnam’s plastics recycling sector is set to receive a technological boost as BASF’s Surface Treatment global business unit, Chemetall, secures a contract to supply advanced PET recycling washing solutions for Circular Plastics Company’s (CPC) new facility in Vung Tau.
The Vung Tau plant will process post-consumer PET plastics into food-grade recycled products, a growing market segment driven by packaging regulations and corporate sustainability commitments. Chemetall’s contribution includes Gardoclean cleaning agents, Gardobond additives for PET/polyolefin separation, and defoaming solutions. These technologies are designed to enhance flake purity, improve yield, and lower energy and resource consumption. Crucially, the treated PET will meet stringent food contact standards, enabling CPC to target premium rPET markets.
Industry data from the UN Environment Programme estimates that global PET bottle recycling rates remain below 60%, with Southeast Asia facing particular challenges in quality control and contamination removal. By integrating chemical separation aids like Gardobond, CPC aims to overcome long-standing efficiency barriers in the wash line stage — a critical step for producing high-grade rPET suitable for direct food packaging reuse.
The partnership highlights the increasing role of process chemistry in closing the plastics loop in emerging markets. While mechanical recycling remains the dominant method for PET, its effectiveness hinges on pre-treatment stages that remove labels, adhesives, and polyolefin contamination.
