The recycling site, operated under the name of Doğapet, is located in the city of Kırklareli in Marmara province close to the Bulgarian border and features sustainable construction and the use of renewable energies and resources. The two Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ PET recycling lines have been commissioned during the fourth quarter of 2024 and reach a combined output of 3.6 tons of bottle-grade recycled PET pellets per hour, amounting to a total capacity of 28,000 tons per year. The Starlinger PET bottle-to-bottle recycling process has been approved for food-grade applications by national and international authorities such as FDA and EFSA as well as by important brand owners.
“We think that the plastics recycling sector will gain a lot of importance and attract investments, especially the bottle-to-bottle section”, said Selçuk Gökhan Gerlikhan, General Manager of Doğapet. “Regulations prescribing the use of raw materials obtained through recycling are coming into effect in more and more countries. We also expect regulations in Türkiye to be tightened within the framework of zero waste targets in the coming years.”
Currently, the use of bottle-grade rPET obtained from mechanical recycling for food applications is not permitted in Türkiye; only rPET produced by means of chemical recycling may be processed into new beverage bottles or food containers. However, bureaucratic procedures permitting the use of mechanically recycled PET for bottle-to-bottle applications are expected to finish in the course of 2025, together with the implementation of a deposit system for plastic bottles.
