GE Technology to Use Honeywell’s Advanced Plastics Recycling Technology At New Facility In South Korea

Honeywell announced that GE Technology will license Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology at their planned advanced recycling facility in South Korea. The plant will be able to convert mixed waste plastics into Honeywell Recycled Polymer Feedstock (RPF), which will then be used to create new plastics, and help enable the development of a circular economy for plastics.

Production is anticipated to begin in 2025 and is projected to be the first commercialized waste plastics recycling facility to use Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology in Korea. The planned advanced recycling plant is expected to have the capacity to transform 30,000 metric tons of mixed waste plastics into Honeywell RPF per year. 

“Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology not only allows us to reduce waste by expanding the types of plastics that can be recycled but also displaces the need for fossil fuels in the creation of virgin plastics,” said Woo-Hyun Shim, vice president, of GE Technology. “Enabling a circular economy for plastics in Korea is now possible through our licensure with Honeywell and their UpCycle Process Technology.” 

Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology is a ready-now technology that utilizes molecular conversion, pyrolysis, and contaminants management technology to convert waste plastic to Honeywell RPF, which is then used to create new plastics. The UpCycle Process Technology expands the types of plastics that can be recycled to include waste plastic that would otherwise go unrecycled, including colored, flexible, multilayered packaging, and polystyrene. When used in conjunction with other chemical and mechanical recycling processes – along with improvements to collection and sorting – Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology has the potential to help recycle nearly 90 percent of waste plastics. This would represent a considerable increase in the number of waste plastics that can be turned into polymer feedstock^1,2. 

“GE Technology is the first company in Korea to license Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology, which will build upon GE Technology’s existing capability in waste collection and mechanical recycling,” said Barry Glickman, vice president, and general manager, of Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “Honeywell’s technology can play a key role in driving a circular plastics economy to tackle the global challenge of plastic waste.”

The announcement expands the UpCycle Process Technology footprint, building on Honeywell’s recent announcements in the U.S., Spain, Turkey, China, and Egypt. 

Honeywell’s UpCycle Process Technology was created within Honeywell’s Sustainable Technology Solutions (STS) business, which is part of Honeywell UOP. This latest breakthrough technology builds upon Honeywell’s focus to deliver high-impact, environmentally sustainable solutions for customers and society.

To learn more about Honeywell’s STS business, click here. 

Honeywell committed to achieving carbon neutrality in its operations and facilities by 2035. This commitment builds on the company’s track record of sharply reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of its operations and facilities as well as its decades-long history of innovation to help its customers meet their environmental and social goals. Approximately 60 percent of Honeywell’s new product introduction research and development investment is directed toward products that improve environmental and social outcomes for customers.

About GE Technology

GE Technology (www.ge-technology.co.kr) is a leading waste management company in South Korea with a vision of Plastic Circularity, carbon reduction, and a Hydrogen Economy. With broad experience operating Material Recovery Facilities for years, GE Technology has been establishing strong value chains and offering full-service waste management and recycling optimization solutions.

For more news and information on GE Technology, please visit www.ge-technology.co.kr.

About Honeywell

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. 

For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom. 

Assuming sorting and collection improve to recover most waste plastic, chemical recycling, including Honeywell UOP UpCycle Process, is widely deployed. The 90 percent of waste plastics that could be recycled may change depending on the number of consumers or communities that have access to recycle waste plastics or the availability of recycling facilities. 

Honeywell UOP analysis of US EPA Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures 2018 and IHSMarkit 2019 world polymer consumption data.