Incom, Chinese pioneer of ‘smart’ plastic bottle collection machines, plans to triple recycling capacity as Beijing aims to stamp out the pollutant
- The Beijing-based firm owns a plant in Tianjin with an annual capacity to process 50,000 tonnes of used plastic drinking bottles
- It plans to open more recycling facilities and raise the capacity to 150,000 tonnes a year
Incom Recycle, the developer of China’s first “smart” plastic bottle collection machines, aims to triple its capacity to turn the used containers into new ones as part of the country’s expansion of the so-called circular economy.
The Beijing-based firm, a unit of Hong Kong-listed, state-backed property developer Sino-Ocean Group, owns a plant in Tianjin with an annual capacity to process 50,000 tonnes of used plastic drinking bottles. It cleans and shreds the material and turns it into polyester chips – the raw material for a variety of consumer goods.
“We plan to invest 1 to 1.5 billion yuan (US$150 million to US$220 million) in the next three to five years to triple the capacity to 150,000 tonnes, by building plants in southern and southwestern China,” Incom general manager Chang Tao told the Post.
Non-biodegradable plastic bags will go in phases starting this year, expanding nationwide by 2025. Hotels must stop handing out free disposal plastic products, while couriers are instructed to stop using non-biodegradable plastic packaging by 2025.
Its production process has been certified by the Ministry of Health and Quality Inspection Bureau, and met the requirements of the US Food and Drugs Administration, besides those of international beverage makers including Coca-Cola and Danone, it said.