BoReTech to Commission China’s First PET Tray-to-Tray Recycling Plant

Boretech is set to commission China’s first PET tray-to-tray recycling plant in Pinghu, Zhejiang Province, in the first quarter of 2026, marking a step toward expanding food-grade recycling beyond PET bottles. The facility, named Suplas and now in the final stage of installation, will have a processing capacity of 28,000 tonnes of PET trays per year. According to the company, Suplas will produce hot-washed PET tray flakes suitable for food-contact thermoforming, enabling closed-loop tray-to-tray recycling.

From downcycling to upcycling

Most of China's post-consumer PET trays are currently downcycled. China’s Action Plan for Recycled Materials, issued in earlier 2026, aims for 19.5 million tonnes of plastic recycling by 2030, highlighting the lack of food-grade routes for non-bottle PET.

Similar gaps exist elsewhere. Europe's PPWR mandates 30% recycled content in sensitive PET by 2030, but according to an ICIS report, only 300,000 tonnes out of 1.07 million tonnes of PET trays were recycled, and dedicated tray-to-tray capacity in the Netherlands, Spain and France was just 57,000 tonnes in 2022. In North America, about 120,000 tonnes of PET thermoforms were recycled in 2024, according to Napcor.

These figures highlight the gap between regulatory targets and current PET tray recycling, especially for food-grade use. A true circular economy aims to maximize resource utilization through high-value applications and closed-loop recycling.

Advanced material separation

Alan Ou, Vice General Manager of Boretech, said, “The process incorporates advanced material separation technology, intensive hot washing and aspirator for label and impurity removal, minimizing PET material losses.”

He added, “Boretech has extensive experience in PET bottle recycling, supported by operational data from over 320 Boretech plastic washing and other related recycling lines that are processing more than 5.9 million tonnes of PET bottles annually. However, PET tray recycling presented new technological challenges. Through dedicated R&D and engineering efforts, we have successfully developed a complete and scalable solution for PET tray recycling.