Page 23 from: What’s inside issue #4?
23recyclinginternational.com | July/August | 2024
COUNTRY REPORT
Surfing the bottle-
to-bottle wave
In rough market conditions, Türkiye’s plastics recycling sector struggles to keep its head above water.
For Kocaeli-based PET recycler Başatli, business is no different. Even so, managing director Murat
Özdemir sees light at the end of the tunnel.
With low prices for recycled plastics
continuing to cause headaches across
the global plastics scene, don’t expect
a rosy business story from Murat
Özdemir. ‘These are really uncertain
and challenging times for our industry,
it is very difficult,’ says the md of PET
recycling firm Başatli.
‘You never know what the next day will
bring,’ Özdemir laments while point-
ing to hundreds of large bags filling a
huge storage hall next to the facility.
‘This is more than one thousand
tonnes of rPET flakes – worth EUR 1.2
million – waiting for shipment to end
users.’
‘PLEASE DON’T!’
PET recycling is far from a profitable
business these days, according to
Özdemir. ‘Honestly, if someone asked
me: “Should I invest in plastics recy-
cling, my answer would be: No, don’t!
Put your money into something else.’
‘We’ve been talking to end users and
big bands like Coca-Cola, Nestle and
Alpla. As long as virgin is cheaper,
they will keep using virgin plastics
rather than rPET. At the same time, for
a recycler, it’s unacceptable and very
frustrating to see parts of our produc-
tion standing still.’
BIGGER IN METALS
Recycling is a relatively new activity
and business division for Başatli.
Founded in 1953 in Kayseri in central
Anatolia, it has grown significantly as a
producer of steel pipes and profiles.
When the company saw exports grow,
it moved to the Marmara region with
direct access to two major sea ports.
In 2019, Başatli launched an rPET divi-
sion and invested EUR 50 million in a
huge facility. The plant has a flakes
output of 3 000 tonnes per month,
based on 4 000 tonnes of used PET
input.
Materials are mainly sourced domesti-
cally while recycled flakes find their
way to bottle-to-bottle producers both
inside Türkiye and beyond. ‘Some 10%
stays in here, 90% is shipped to end
users in the EU – as well as less com-
mon destinations including
Azerbaijan.’
BETTER TIMES AHEAD
Despite tough market conditions,
Özdemir believes times will change for
the better. ‘We’re seeing more regula-
tion being implemented. Türkiye’s
government is really promoting recy-
cling and supporting our industry.
We’re kind of following the EU route
which means there will be more recy-
cling rather than less. What’s more,
OEMs and big brands like Coca Cola
have committed to use 50% rPET in
their packaging by 2030 which can
only further boost our business and
volumes.’
NO LONGER A NICHE
Türkiye is a growing market for recy-
cling solutions providers. ‘For us,
Türkiye has always been a major hub
connecting Europe with the Middle
East and the Gulf region,’ observes
Serkan Orhan, regional sales manager
for sorting tech supplier Tomra.
‘Fifteen years ago recycling was a
niche business here but that has
changed completely. Recycling is a big
topic now and we’re seeing huge
investments.’
To date, Tomra has installed 250
machines and lines at customers’ facili-
ties across Türkiye, mainly in the indus-
trialised west around Istanbul, of which
90% sort plastics and municipal waste.
Başatli is among Tomra’s customers.
Fotobijschrift
ANOTHER BOTTE-
TO-BOTTLE LINE FOR
TÜRKIYE
The future is recycling. One of
Başatli’s customers, nearby pack-
aging producer Paag, has added
a new PET bottle-to-bottle recy-
cling line to its Gebze facility in
Kocaeli. The facility, equipped
with a Starlinger recoSTAR PET
165 HC iV+ system, began opera-
tions in mid-March 2024 and has
a production capacity of up to 1.8
tonnes per hour.
The initiative aims to reduce
dependance on virgin plastic,
lower the carbon footprint and
promote sustainable packaging.
‘We entered the bottle-to-bottle
recycling market with a firm com-
mitment to advancing sustainabil-
ity and making a positive impact
on the environment,’ says Paag’s
vice chairman Bekir Öktenoğlu.
The facility is expected to process
around 1 200 tonnes of rPET bot-
tles per month.
A U T H O R | P H O T O Martijn Reintjes
Murat
Özdemir:
‘If someone
asked me:
“Should I
invest in plas-
tics recycling,
my answer
would be: No,
don’t! Put your
money into
something
else.’
22-23_turkey_basatli.indd 23 03-07-2024 15:45
