Avantium, a pioneer in renewable and circular polymer materials, has announced that its plant-based plastic PEF, releaf®, received official approval for recycling within Japan’s PET bottle stream. The approval was granted by the Council for PET Bottle Recycling (CPBR). This marks a significant milestone for PEF’s adoption in Japan’s beverage packaging industry.
The CPBR, responsible for promoting PET bottle recycling in Japan, assesses new materials to ensure compatibility with advanced recycling systems. Their approval confirms that Avantium’s PEF, produced with YXY® Technology, can be safely incorporated into multilayer PET bottles and recycled effectively. PEF could be used at up to 10% weight in PET bottles without compromising recycling quality.
The approval included thorough testing of physical, chemical, and processability criteria. PEF met Japan’s strict standards, including compliance with the Positive List system for food contact plastics and relevant regulations from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The recyclability rating for PEF-containing bottles was ranked “A,” indicating full suitability for bottle-to-bottle recycling.
This recognition follows similar approvals in Europe by the European PET Bottle Platform and in the USA by the Association of Plastic Recyclers. Such endorsements enable brands to confidently adopt PEF as a high-performance, renewable barrier layer in beverage bottles. All these advances are supporting Japan’s shift toward more sustainable packaging solutions.
Yuzhong Chen, Avantium’s Business Development Manager for Asia, expressed gratitude for Japanese industry support. “Collaborating with Japanese companies during the CPBR assessment demonstrated that releaf® can be effectively recycled in Japan’s PET stream while maintaining high material quality. This joint effort highlights our shared commitment to sustainable, plant-based packaging.”
