Israeli Startup Partners With Thai Chemical Company To Recycle PVC 

Israeli startup Plastic Back has teamed up with Thai petrochemicals company SCG Chemicals on a project to recycle polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste into naphtha fuel for industrial use in Thailand.

The partnership was jointly announced by the National Innovation Agency (NIA) in Thailand and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) – both branches of their respective governments dedicated to advancing the local tech sector. 

“I strongly believe that this innovation will be the beginning of more [bilateral] collaboration in the future,” said Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Orna Sagiv.

 Plastic Back diverts discarded plastic from landfills and other locations and converts it back to its original form of crude oil. Its proprietary process treats materials that would otherwise not be recyclable. 

Unveiling the new partnership, SCG Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Suracha Udomsak and Plastic Back co-founder and CEO Tal Binder Cohen said that they planned to introduce the recycling technology across Thailand, the Thai media reported. 

Praising the new collaboration, NIA chief Dr. Krithpaka Boonfueng said the partnership was the result of a 2018 memorandum of understanding between his agency and its Israeli counterpart. 

The collaboration, he said, was an example of the successful blending of Israeli innovation and Thai industrial know-how. 

“We have identified the PVC chemical recycling segment as a big opportunity. The collaborative efforts with SCGC will allow us to close the loop on the upcycling of difficult-to-treat PVC waste streams,” said Binder Cohen. 

“We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with SCGC as we scale up our process and partnership. The bilateral R&D framework, supported by the NIA and IIA, have allowed us to bring together innovation, industry expertise and a fertile ground for collaboration.”