SK TVM G O Stone Builds Refill Station Using 'Biodegradable LimeX' at Emart24

[SKC's biodegradable material business investor SK TVM GOSTONE has launched the eco-friendly refill station service 'GreenFill Box' in the form of a vending machine together with Emart24 and PlanDBnew. A company representative at Emart24 R Yongsan Tri Square store is introducing the GreenFill Box exclusive container made from SK TVM GOSTONE's biodegradable Limex material. Photo by SKC]

SKC's biodegradable material business investor SK TBM GOSSTONE announced on the 24th that it has launched the eco-friendly refill station service 'GreenFill Box' in the form of a vending machine, in collaboration with Emart24, a major convenience store company in Korea, and PlanDB New, a marketing specialist company.

The GreenFill Box, installed at Emart24 R Yongsan Trisquare store in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is a service that allows customers to easily fill and purchase laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, and more in refill containers made from SK TBM GOSSTONE's biodegradable LIMEX material. With the container purchased once, consumers can repurchase detergent as needed, enabling more eco-friendly and rational consumption.

Biodegradable LIMEX is a new material combining PBAT (Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate), a biodegradable material that replaces conventional plastic resin, and natural limestone. Under certain conditions, it completely biodegrades and returns to nature as 'biodegradable plastic.' Through this, Emart24's GreenFill Box can practice 'zero (0) plastic,' going one step further than existing refill stations that recycle general plastic containers that do not decompose during landfill or incineration.

SKC previously established SK TBM GOSSTONE in 2021 as a joint venture with Japan's TBM, which holds LIMEX technology, and has been promoting the commercialization of biodegradable LIMEX. Earlier this year in January, SK TBM GOSSTONE signed a business agreement with Samhwa Paints Industrial, a leading domestic paint manufacturer, to develop biodegradable eco-friendly paint containers and entered the eco-friendly paint container market.

SKC is also promoting the commercialization of high-strength PBAT, a biodegradable material developed with proprietary technology, through its investee EcoVance. EcoVance and SK TBM GOSSTONE are respectively advancing the construction of PBAT production facilities with an annual capacity of 70,000 tons, the world's largest single-plant scale, and LIMEX production facilities with an annual capacity of 36,000 tons, targeting operation by 2025.

A representative of SK TBM GOSSTONE said, “By using detergent products, which account for a high proportion of plastic waste discharged from households, in biodegradable material containers, eco-friendly consumption that reduces plastic use can be more easily practiced.”