SK chemicals' Seven Plastic Materials Confirmed Compatible with European Recycling Processes

- "Full compatibility" verified with PET bottle recycling streams, proving recyclability from the material design stage

SK chemicals' plastic materials have secured verification of their compatibility as feedstock for recycling processes in Europe.

SEOUL, South Korea, May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SK chemicals announced on May 26 that its copolyester ECOTRIA CLARO and its PET-based SKYPET product family have been recognized by RecyClass, a European recycling assessment body, as recyclable within the PET recycling stream.

RecyClass is a non-profit, cross-industry initiative established to advance the circular economy for plastics in Europe. It operates a structured framework to evaluate and certify the recyclability of plastic materials in accordance with evaluation protocols and design guidelines.

In line with the RecyClass framework, SK chemicals obtained the Technology Approval (TA), an assessment that verifies whether a material, when introduced into actual recycling processes, can be reliably used as recycled feedstock without disrupting existing operations. The TA serves as a key benchmark for assessing a material's compatibility with the recycling process when used as feedstock for post-consumer recycled plastics. Materials whose compatibility with recycling processes has not been verified can cause process disruptions or quality degradation, potentially impeding actual recycling.

With this outcome, SK chemicals has secured authoritative verification of the value of its diverse polyester portfolio as recycling feedstock, spanning from copolyesters to PET and from recycled to virgin materials. While recycled materials are commonly evaluated by whether and to what extent they contain recycled feedstock reprocessed from waste plastics, the industry also regards the question of whether discarded waste plastics can themselves be processed back into feedstock as an equally critical measure of recyclability.

For example, even if a material contains 100% recycled PET, it cannot contribute to a continuous circular structure if it fails to be recycled again after use due to process-related issues, ultimately ending up discarded or landfilled. For this reason, experts emphasize that building a sustainable recycling ecosystem requires materials to satisfy two conditions: incorporating recycled content (Recycled) and being recyclable themselves (Recyclable).

Ahn Jae-hyun, CEO of SK chemicals, said, "This verification is an official endorsement of our materials' circularity as feedstock, which represents one pillar of the complete circular structure we are building. To establish a sustainable circular economy, we will continue to accumulate technical expertise in recycling and strengthen our competitiveness across the entire process, from feedstock to commercialization, while expanding collaboration with European customers and other stakeholders."

The seven products that received the assessment include five copolyester products in the ECOTRIA CLARO family and two products in the general-purpose SKYPET family. The five ECOTRIA CLARO products, namely ECOTRIA CLARO 100, ECOTRIA CLARO 200, ECOTRIA CLARO 300, ECOTRIA CLARO 100 CR50N, and ECOTRIA CLARO 200 CR50N, received the Full Compatible grade, indicating they can be recycled together within the PET recycling process without any restrictions across the entire workflow. The two SKYPET products, SKYPET BR and SKYPET BR-V, received the Limited Compatible grade, meaning they can be recycled under specific process conditions.

Earlier, last year, SK chemicals had secured the highest Class A rating from RecyClass through its Letter of Compatibility (LoC) for a PET bottle made with SKYPET CR, its circular-recycled PET. This assessment evaluates whether a container's structural design is compatible with existing recycling processes and serves as a benchmark for determining whether the container can be processed without issues during actual recycling. The bottle incorporated SKYPET CR BB and SKYPET CR BL.

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SOURCE SK chemicals