Doğa opens PET bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in Turkey

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 Turkey 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 Turkey; 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.

DOĞAPET currently sources the post-consumer PET bottles for recycling in Turkey. Like in many other countries, plastic scrap collection and presorting of the material is in the hands of the private sector, although the government is preparing to implement measures such as the afore-mentioned bottle deposit system. “The pre-sorting processes for used PET packaging in Turkey are really good, and consequently also the quality of the material”, explained Gerlikhan. “In addition to the raw materials which we currently source through the separate waste collection system we will be able to obtain input material also through the PET bottle deposit system once it is in place. When we are ready to increase capacities, we will also process material from outside Turkey if necessary.”

DOĞAPET is going to supply the bottle-grade rPET to global beverage and water companies that are important brands in their sectors.

“We have made an investment at the most appropriate time in order to provide environmentally friendly solutions to changing needs in Turkey”, said Selçuk Gerlikhan. “The demand for recycled, bottle-grade raw materials in Turkey is high. We expect this demand to increase also in neighboring countries, especially in the European Union, due to the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive that will come into effect in 2025. As Doğa, we have high hopes in our PET bottle-to-bottle recycling project and want to continue our investments in this field according to the direction the sector takes.”