Closed-loop achieved: SK Chemicals supplies chemically-recycled banners

SK Chemicals has established a stable collaborative framework with Gyeongju City, the Korea Textile Development Institute (KTDI), Daehan Media, and Re&Saeng to turn waste banners back into banners, and is now beginning the actual supply of chemically recycled banners.

Products from each stage of the process, in which waste banners are finely shredded, chemically recycled into recycled materials, spun into yarn, and made into banners.

SK Chemicals will supply an initial batch of 200 banners made from chemically recycled waste banners to Gyeongju City. The chemically recycled banners will be displayed in high-traffic public spaces. Each banner will carry a dedicated logo created by Gyeongju City to distinguish it from conventional banners.

This achievement is the result of a collaborative framework that six organizations have built since early this year: SK Chemicals, Gyeongju City, KTDI, Daehan Media, Re&Saeng, and the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD).

Together, they have established a commercialization system covering the entire process, from collecting waste banners through feedstock conversion, materials production, banner manufacturing, and verification to actual use.

To support this, Gyeongju City opened a new public collection depot in July and established a collection system that gathers waste banners, which had previously been incinerated, at the depot so that the entire volume can be recovered as resources.

The collected waste banners undergo pre-processing, such as shredding and melting, to be converted into a form suitable for chemical recycling. SK Chemicals then uses its depolymerization process to produce recycled feedstock and materials from them.

KTDI is responsible for yarn production, spinning the recycled material into yarn, while Daehan Media and Re&Saeng handle product manufacturing by producing banner fabric from the recycled yarn.

KORAD, which is headquartered in Gyeongju, serves as the end user, purchasing and using the finished chemically recycled banners.

“This project represents the first fruits of a joint effort by a diverse group of stakeholders, from companies with materials and yarn technologies to local governments and end users. Going forward, we will make company-wide efforts to expand this collaborative model,” said Ko Jeong-seok, Head of SK Chemicals’ Recycling Division.