Recon Plans to Expand into the Plastics Chemical Recycling Business and Attended the 27th China Plastics Recycling Conference and Exhibition to Explore Cutting-Edge Technologies

3 March 2023

Recon Technology, Ltd, a China-based independent solutions integrator in the oilfield service and environmental protection, electric power and coal chemical industries, today announced that it has formulated preliminary plans to expand into the plastics chemical recycling business. Recon also attended the 27th China Plastics Recycling Conference and Exhibition held on February 28 at Dongguan City of Guangdong Province to explore cutting-edge technologies that work to achieve circular economy goals in eliminating waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in continuous use, and regenerating natural systems. In contrast to traditional linear economies, the circular economy is important in addressing climate change, combating biodiversity loss, and preserving scarce resources.

Creating a circular economy is an essential sustainability target for stakeholders across the petrochemicals plastic value chain. Traditional mechanical recycling methods are necessary, but such methods are more likely to achieve a downcycling of plastics. Chemical recycling can create new plastics, save the consumption of crude oil, improve the reuse of waste plastics, and truly achieve the full life-cycle cycle of plastics which is a vital contribution to reducing plastic pollution. How to achieve stable production at low cost has been a key breakthrough that the global chemical industry continues to explore. The business segment has since attracted the attention and participation of many consumer industry giants, who have realistic requirements on increasing the use of recycled plastics, which means the development of the sector is rapid and the market potential is huge. The segment also attracts investments, planned expansions and real-world product launches into the field that all aim to accelerate its scale and application frequency.

Relevant data shows that the market space for chemical recycling of waste plastics is huge, with an annual new market potential estimated at tens of billions of dollars and a market potential of hundreds of billion dollars to dispose and reuse of plastics produced and previously landfilled. Chemical recycling of waste plastics is expected to become a new growth area and a driving force for petrochemical and sanitation solid waste industries in the carbon neutral era due to its superior plastic waste treatment, carbon reduction and crude oil substitution capabilities.

Recon decides to enter into this field to catch up with the opportunities presented by technologic innovation as well as on the backdrop of rising price of petroleum as raw material for plastics, increasing difficulties in exploration, and most importantly a deteriorating climate due partially to plastic pollution. The Company is planning to engage in sector of plastic chemical recycling, on the one hand, which fulfills its own corporate responsibility of pursuing the goal of environment protection, and on the other hand, which also gives full play to make use of its industry and technical know-how and advantages. The Company will provide further update on Recon's initiative when appropriate in the short-term.

Mr. Shenping Yin, Founder and CEO of Recon commented: "We are excited to announce Recon's new business initiative which is a natural extension of our existing business lines in the field of chemical recycling, and also a key step in fulfilling our commitment to our shareholders to transform the Company's operating cash flow to enhance our corporate value. Brands and consumers are fueling increasing demand for recycled polymers across many markets. The mechanically recycled polymer market is currently under-developed, with global capacity sitting at less than 10% for major polymers, according to ICIS("Independent Commodity Intelligence Services"). Chemical recycling is an area of growing interest and investment worldwide of sustainability as it could bridge the gap in supply of recycling materials and is probably the most effective and sustainable way to reach scale for food-grade packaging recycling. China's plastic recycling efforts over the past decade have helped reduce crude oil consumption by about 510 million tons and prevented 61.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions . We believe that now is a strategic time to enter the circular economy and chemical recycling industry. Over the years, we have also gained great industry know-how and aim to make fullest use of our skillset to contribute to the creation of a greener and circular economy that serves for the motto of our corporate governance."

 

Source:prnewswire.com