Recycling: Phelix breaks ground on recycling facility in Shanghai; UAE expands use of recycled plastics for food-contact packaging

China’s Phelix New Materials recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its 120,000 tonnes/year advanced recycling plant in Jinshan District, Shanghai. The facility is located in the Carbon Valley Green Bay industrial park. The company secured hundreds of millions RMB Pre-A round led by Co-Win Ventures, with Step Fund and other institutions as participants.

The chemical recycling facility will be equipped with both pyrolysis and hydrogenation units, with the pyrolysis oil to be delivered via pipelines to the nearby Shanghai Petrochemical for the production of high-end chemical products. 

Phelix focuses on the valorisation of polyolefin waste plastics, addressing the long-standing industry pain points of low value and difficult processing. Its proprietary e-PtL patented chemical recycling technology is said to convert low-quality waste plastics — that are hard to handle by traditional mechanical recycling — into high-value circular chemicals equivalent to fossil-based raw materials, achieving a liquefaction conversion rate of over 85%.

The company has built a robust portfolio of patents and software copyrights and has been recognized as a National High-Tech Enterprise. The newly launched project will be deeply integrated into the Yangtze River Delta's high-end chemical industry chain, demonstrating a clear and scalable path to commercialisation.

As the lead investor, Co-Win Ventures offers financial and industrial support to accelerate Phelix's technological upgrading, production construction and business expansion.

Meanwhile in other news, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken a significant step forward in its circular economy agenda with the issuance of Ministerial Decision No. (21) of 2026 by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), which extends the regulatory framework governing the use of recycled plastics in food-contact applications to polymer types beyond rPET.

The decision, welcomed by industry bodies as a landmark development in UAE sustainability policy, means that other recycled plastic types, including recycled polypropylene (rPP), high-density polyethylene (rHDPE), and low-density polyethylene (rLDPE), can now be approved for use in packaging that comes into direct contact with food, provided defined safety and quality conditions are met. 

The new ruling builds directly on a foundational 2023 decision in which MoIAT first opened the door to recycled plastics in food-contact packaging. Announced at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January 2023, that earlier ministerial decision permitted the use of rPET produced at MoIAT-approved recycling facilities, subject to strict certification requirements under the UAE Regulation for Control on Food Contact Material.

The Circular Packaging Association (CPA) described the issuance as "a key milestone in enabling the safe use of recycled plastics in food-contact applications beyond rPET."

SUBSCRIBE to Get the Latest Updates from PRA    Click Here»