POSCO International enters bioplastic recycling biz

POSCO International will launch a biodegradable plastic recycling business to take advantage of the rapidly growing popularity of polylactic acid (PLA) products, the company said Wednesday. PLA, or biodegradable plastic, is made of corn starch or sugar cane decomposed by microorganisms.

The company signed a business agreement to develop and commercialize PLA recycling technology in partnership with TotalEnergies

Corbion and Esol at POSCO International’s Songdo office in Incheon, Tuesday.

TotalEnergies Corbion is a joint venture established between French firm TotalEnergies and Dutch company Corbion, and is the world’s second-largest manufacturer in the PLA field and a leader in recycling technology. Esol is the No. 1 company in the domestic PLA market.

POSCO will be in charge of the overall planning and management as well as the funding of the business under the contract. TotalEnergies Corbion will utilize its accumulated skills in producing PLA to help transfer technology to build recycling plants. Esol plays a role in stably supplying waste PLA needed for the recycling business.

“We will successfully lead the development of bioplastic recycling technology to contribute to the establishment of national circular economy and foster it as one of the company’s new growth engines through commercialization,” a POSCO International official said.

The bioplastic business is growing rapidly around the world — attracting public attention as an alternative to solve the problems of plastic products that cause environmental pollution.

Its global market has been increasing by 21.7 percent annually from $10.46 billion (13.6 trillion won) in 2020 and it is expected to reach $27.9 billion by 2025. Here, the PLA market is expected to grow from $1.9 billion to $5.65 billion in the same period, which is 2.4 percent higher than the average annual growth rate of other bioplastics.