PureCyle Technology Company Joins with Partners to Promote Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene Film Containing Recycled Content in Japan

PureCycle Technologies, a plastics recycling specialist based in Orlando, Florida, announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with RM TOHCELLO, one of the world’s largest producers of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film, as well as Mitsui, a global trading and investment company and long-time partner of PureCycle Technologies. Biaxially oriented polypropylene film has extremely high requirements for raw material purity, making it difficult to incorporate sufficient amounts of recycled materials into production. This collaboration marks a major breakthrough in the field of sustainable packaging.

This collaboration began in the first quarter of 2023, when RM TOHCELLO started testing PureFive resin samples jointly provided by PureCycle Technologies and Mitsui & Co. The initial trial results were highly encouraging, laying a solid foundation for subsequent pilot-scale production, which has now been successfully completed. At present, the parties are preparing to introduce this innovative biaxially oriented polypropylene film material to film converters and brand owners in Japan. A formal commercialization agreement is expected to be signed in 2027, after which, upon completion of import compliance review, the product will be officially supplied to the Japanese market.

Wiebe Schipper, Vice President of Operations for Europe and Asia Pacific at PureCyle Technologies, said: “This collaboration perfectly aligns with the innovative vision behind the development of our core technology, successfully opening up entirely new application areas that recycled materials have long been unable to enter. The successful completion of joint trials with a world-leading film producer fully demonstrates the outstanding performance of our recycled resin. This achievement will benefit a wide range of customers and brand owners, while also injecting strong momentum into the future development of the sustainable packaging industry, which is truly encouraging.”

Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film is widely used in food packaging, product labels, and everyday consumer goods, where stringent standards are imposed on transparency, stability, and performance. Traditional mechanically recycled polypropylene has consistently failed to meet the high-quality requirements of such premium packaging applications, preventing recycled feedstock from entering this high-value packaging market.

Masaru Furukawa, Head of the Executive Department at RM TOHCELLO Co., Ltd., said, “Flexible film is one of the fastest-growing segments in the packaging industry, and we have long been looking forward to proven technology solutions such as those offered by PureCycle Technologies to help us incorporate recycled materials into our biaxially oriented polypropylene film and polypropylene sealant film products. We believe this innovative film can transform post-consumer plastic waste into high-quality raw materials and help the industry reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Going forward, we will continue to work with partners across the value chain to advance R&D on diversified applications for this material.”

PureCyle Technology has proprietary solvent-based recycling technology that can completely remove additives, pigments, odors, and various impurities from post-consumer polypropylene waste, producing recycled resin that has been certified by third-party authorities. This resin has been successfully applied in numerous applications.