The spate of green-tinged announcements from South Korea's petrochemical sector continues. Following on from its rebranding, SK Geo Centric has joined hands with Indonesian-based paper producer APP Group to develop eco-friendly paper packaging material In accordance with its major shift in business structure from In accordance with its major shift in business structure from “Carbon to Green.” SK Geo Centric has in its repertoire various functional coating materials based on polyolefins.
APP Group Chairman Huang Zhi Yuan (left) and SK Geo Centric CEO Na Kyung-soo (right). [Image: SK Geo Centric]
Also out of South Korea, rubber manufacturer Kumho Petrochemical and Agilyx have agreed to collaborate to explore the development and construction of a chemical recycling project in South Korea. The proposal would recover post-consumer polystyrene and chemically recycle it to obtain styrene monomer, which would then be utilized in the manufacture of solution styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR), a key component for the manufacture of tires.
Finally, LG Electronics has "has set a goal to use almost 600,000 tonnes of recycled plastic by 2030 in a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the value chain." In 2020, LG used about 20,000 tonnes of recycled plastic in its products, which it plans to increase more than tenfold by 2025. While recycled plastic is currently used inside LG TVs, monitors, speakers, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners, LG will expand the use of recycled plastic to the exterior of its products as well.
In addition to using more recycled plastic, LG is reducing the use of virgin plastic throughout its operations as well. For example, this year, 18 OLED TV models will be produced using less virgin plastic, up from 14 models in 2020, reducing as much as 10,000 metric tons of plastic.