Bottle-to-bottle technology for PET bottles (monomerization) A technological shift that enabled recycling into food applications Late 1990s to early 2000s

Bottle-to-bottle technology for PET bottles (monomerization) A technological shift that enabled recycling into food applications Late 1990s to early 2000s
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, bottle-to-bottle technology for PET bottles reached full-scale operation for the first time in the world as a monomerization technology that chemically decomposes used PET bottles and converts them back into PET resin. While progress has been made in sorting and collecting PET bottles, quality deterioration and contamination by foreign matter were inevitable with conventional material recycling, and recycling applications were limited to fibers and sheets. In the early 2000s, the safety of this technology was recognized by the regulatory authorities, and recycling for the same purposes became a reality. The system was also recognized for its ability to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions compared to the use of petroleum-derived raw materials. On the other hand, social conditions such as advanced sorted collection and stable supply were indispensable, and this was a circulation model that could only be realized when the technolog
y and the system were integrated. This technology redefined recycling as a part of resource production, and was an important achievement that provided the prototype for later circular economy concepts.