SK Chemical Discloses to Clients in Quarterly Report... "Leading the Plastic Recycling Market"

Through Proactive Investment in Chemical Recycling Business

SK Chemicals recently disclosed an unusual list of recycled material customers in its first-quarter earnings report for this year. While some customers have been revealed when signing contracts with major clients, this is the first time the entire list has been organized and made public.

According to SK Chemicals' first-quarter earnings report, global cosmetics company Est?e Lauder Companies and cosmetics original design manufacturer (ODM) Cosmax were named as copolyester customers. Copolyester is an eco-friendly material that does not contain the endocrine disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA) and is used for cosmetic containers. Additionally, Hyosung Advanced Materials, Hankook Tire, Ottogi, and Samdasoo receive recycled polyester (PET) supplied by SK Chemicals.

SK Chemicals mentioned its customers in the disclosure due to the growing importance of its recycled materials business. A company representative explained, "In the past, we did not disclose customers related to chemical recycling materials because the business share was not significant. We are revealing them now to highlight that we are the only company capable of commercializing recycled materials for various applications and producing products."

Chemical recycling has the advantage of being almost infinitely recyclable, unlike traditional physical recycling methods such as crushing and washing. It chemically breaks down waste plastics to the molecular level and uses them as raw materials, allowing repeated recycling without quality degradation.

SK Chemicals has made proactive investments to secure a leading position in the chemical recycling market. Last year, SK Chemicals invested 130 billion KRW to acquire assets related to chemical recycling raw materials and chemical recycling PET business in China, establishing SK Santou.

The global recycled plastics market size is expected to grow from 60 trillion KRW last year to 600 trillion KRW by 2050. The share of the Green Chemical business segment in SK Chemicals' total sales increased by 16.3 percentage points, from 70.9% last year to 87.2% in the first quarter of this year.