Thai firm Indorama increasing plastic recycling in the region

In good news for the environment, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to lend $100 million to Thailand’s Indorama Ventures to increase its plastic-recycling businesses in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The ADB said the loan was its first “independently verified non-sovereign blue loan.” As part of the Bank’s Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies, the ADB will lend or invest $5 billion in blue initiatives through 2024. Blue refers to the oceans.

“We are honored to agree to this blue loan with ADB,” said Indorama Ventures Chief Sustainability Officer Yashovardhan Lohia.

Indorama Ventures, one of Thailand’s multinational corporations, is among the world’s leading intermediate petrochemicals producers. The firm is a large manufacturer of fibers, including wool yarns, and PET plastic, which is used in plastic bottles.

“The recycling of plastics like PET is a must for healthier oceans, and this initiative will help to achieve that objective by partnering with Indorama Ventures, which is the global leader of PET production and recycling,” said ADB Vice-President Ashok Lavasa.

Plastic pollution, particularly in the oceans, has become a significant environmental problem with potentially harmful ramifications for human health. Some environmentalists estimate that Asia accounts for more than 80 percent of all plastics released into the ocean.

“Indorama is building the recycling infrastructure needed to divert waste from the marine environment. By using post-consumer PET bottles as a feedstock for new bottles, we give value to waste. This drives improvements in waste collection systems, meaning less waste and cleaner oceans,” Lohia said.

Photo courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/indoramaventures/