[Advertorial] LG Chem reinvents recycling through door-to-door plastic retrieval service

LG Chem said Tuesday it will create an environmental, social and governance business model that encompasses the entire life cycle of plastic -- from its production and use to retrieval and recycling.

According to South Korea’s leading chemicals firm, it has joined together with zero-waste packaging startup Innerbottle to establish an eco-friendly platform where residents can simply put empty plastic containers of beauty products inside a bag outside their doors and let a worker pick them up.

The retrieved plastic waste will go to LG Chem, which will recycle it into raw plastic materials. Innerbottle will use these post-consumer recycled raw materials when making its plastic containers.

Plastic containers for cosmetic products are designed to prevent the spoliation of content and therefore are made of complex plastic materials categorized as “other.” This makes recycling difficult.

The new platform will allow LG Chem to recycle plastic products made of the company’s plastic materials only, leading to a swift and efficient recycling.

LG Chem aims to first apply the platform to Innerbottle’s plastic containers for cosmetic products starting in the second half of this year. LG Chem plans to expand the platform to plastic containers for food and medical products.

“Every year, 15 billion plastic bottles of cosmetic products are thrown away. If just 10 percent of them are recycled, it would be equivalent to cutting 75,000 tons of carbon emissions or planting 11.4 million 30-year-old pine trees,” a company official said.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)