Powering plastics recycling in Southeast Asia

ExxonMobil is working to collaborate with governments, industry and technology providers throughout Southeast Asia to help assess the potential for large-scale advanced recycling facilities across the region, developing technology and supporting policies that help to accelerate plastic waste collection and recycling in order to support the creation of a circular economy for plastics.

“Plastics can help to raise living standards around the world, given their critical use in agriculture, food packaging, medical equipment and more,” said Wai-Kong Choy, ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling project manager for Asia Pacific.

“Leveraging the technologies and expertise of organizations across the value chain, we can help accelerate a circular economy for plastics in the Southeast Asia region, so that a broader scope of plastic waste can be turned into new products instead of ending up in the environment, incineration or landfill.”

What is Advanced Recycling?

Less than 10% of plastic waste is recycled globally, in part due to challenges with the collection and sorting of plastic waste, particularly items made from different types of plastics or products contaminated with food waste or sticky labels.

Advanced recycling works by breaking down plastic waste to its molecular building blocks, transforming it into raw materials that can be used to make virgin-quality plastic and other valuable new products. The process helps minimize contaminants and can accommodate mixed, multi-layer plastics.

In Southeast Asia, ExxonMobil is supporting the development of tailored models to address plastic waste – helping society to surpass the 12% recycling rate for plastic waste currently estimated in OECD Asian countries and helping to meet growing consumer demand for circular products.

Innovation in Indonesia

In November 2022, ExxonMobil signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indomobil Prima Energi and Plastic Energy in Indonesia. The MoU aims to assess the potential for large-scale implementation of advanced plastic recycling technology. The recycling capacity for this opportunity is expected to reach 100,000 metric tons a year over time, with a first phase potentially starting up in 2025.

In collaboration with the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association and Scientex Berhad, ExxonMobil has jointly launched the Green Truck mobile recycling education program. The Green Truck visits schools in Malaysia to help educate children about the role of plastics in our everyday lives and the benefits of recycling. The program focuses on the importance of implementing the ‘3 Rs’ concept in everyday life: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Creating a circular economy for plastics in Southeast Asia and around the world

ExxonMobil is also exploring advanced recycling opportunities in neighbouring countries, including Singapore, helping to accelerate a circular economy for plastics in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil continues to collaborate with customers and brand owners to help meet their demand for certified-circular plastic products. Recently, the company made its first commercial sales of certified-circular plastics in Asia Pacific to Scientex for use in flexible food packaging.