Octal Recycling Capacity Set to Exceed to 90,000 Metric Tons per Annum by End of 2017

At the vanguard of PET recycling and setting global manufacturing standards for environmental stewardship, OCTAL has announced that its recycling capacity for PET resin, bottles, pre-form and sheet flakes will exceed 90,000 metric tons per annum by the end of 2017. To achieve this milestone, the company’s Salalah and Cincinnati plants will raise their processing of PET to over 10,500kg every hour, returning the product to its original condition and creating an uncompromised sustainable material that can be used in the fabrication of PET packaging.

“Our innovative proprietary recycling and treatment technology is making it possible for us to recycle PET at this rate, while generating a prime product that exceeds all minimum direct food contact requirements for PET packaging,” said Sean Brown, Director of Operations Salalah at OCTAL. “This breakthrough not only took the quality of the recycled PET material to a new level of purity but raised the capacity of OCTAL’s two on-site Vacurema recycling units in Salalah from 3,450kg per hour to 6,450kg per hour, paving the way for this year’s achievement.”

He continued: “This is reflected in the fact that all our products are fully recyclable and have a demonstrated recycle content of 15%, above the European average of 11.7%. For us, though, this figure is just the start and we are presently working to increase recycle content to over 25%. On top of this, we have continuously invested in innovation and technology to improve our recycling capabilities, attaining the transformation of over 90,000 metric tons of PET product into top grade reusable material this year. While this is truly a momentous achievement and a proud milestone for OCTAL, we are already looking ahead and exploring the possibility of applying these capabilities on a much larger scale. In particular, we are keen to develop the processing of post-consumer PET bottles, something we have already begun to research through a series of small-scale bottle recycling campaigns.”

Committed to ethical conduct and social responsibility and believing that the purpose of business is to create a better world, OCTAL drives the development of sustainable packaging materials worldwide. In doing so, it sets international standards in environmental stewardship and innovation through the application of pioneering patented green technology, enjoying as a result the lowest carbon footprint in the PET industry. Also contributing to this low environmental impact is OCTAL’s mindful conservation of natural resources, in production consuming between 65% less purchased energy, using 28% less onsite thermal energy than competitors, and creating 10% lower global warming potential. Its production facilities use only municipal recycled water, of which 80% is recovered, and a rainwater harvesting system is used for the on-site irrigation. Natural and high-efficiency lighting is employed in all OCTAL buildings and solar-powered lights are used in parking lots. Sharing its eco-expertise for the good of the global community, OCTAL works closely with customers to make their products more sustainable and to reduce their environmental impact.