The Team at Ismail Resin in front of the newly installed Starlinger recoSTAR PET 215 art bottle-to-bottle recycling system in the factory in Port Qasim, Karachi, Pakistan. © Ismail Resin
With its new Starlinger recoSTAR PET 215 art bottle-to-bottle recycling system, Ismail Resin Pvt. Ltd., based in Karachi and part of Ismail Industries, is pushing circularity and plastic waste recovery in Pakistan.
The Starlinger recycling line installed at the company’s state-of-the-art facility located in Port Qasim, Karachi, has been successfully commissioned in March 2026. It constitutes a significant milestone in Ismail Resin’s strategic expansion into the production of high-quality, food-grade recycled PET (rPET). While Ismail Resin Pvt. Ltd. is a well-established producer of PET resin, this facility marks its first venture into PET bottle-to-bottle recycling.
“We selected Starlinger & Co GmbH as technology partner due to its globally proven expertise in food-grade PET recycling and strict compliance with international regulatory frameworks,” said Maqsood Ismail, Managing Director of Ismail Industries. “The key advantages of the Starlinger bottle-to-bottle recycling system are the FDA and EFSA-compliant technology, the superior and reliable decontamination efficiency, precise intrinsic viscosity control, and consistent production of high-quality rPET suitable for direct food-contact applications. This investment reinforces our commitment to delivering safe, sustainable, and circular packaging solutions to meet the evolving demands of local and global brand owners.”
The Starlinger recoSTAR PET 215 art bottle-to-bottle recycling system produces up to 3,000 kg of food-contact rPET per hour, which amounts to an annual production output of more than 24,000 tons. Ismail Resin is going to process post-consumer PET bottles collected primarily in the metropolitan regions of Karachi and Hyderabad. Pakistan’s recycling industry is mainly supported by a highly efficient informal sector comprising waste pickers, aggregators, and recyclers. It plays a vital role in ensuring high collection and recovery rates. Through the bottle-to-bottle recycling project, Ismail Resin aims to further strengthen this system by expanding collection coverage and enabling the recovery of approximately 40,000 tons of used PET bottles annually, thus contributing significantly to improve resource efficiency and environmental protection.
Commercial supply of food-grade rPET will commence upon completion of food-safety certifications and regulatory approvals which are currently underway. Ismail Resin has already achieved FSSC, Halal as well as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, while ISO 45001, Sedex as well as EU compliance processes are currently in progress. Ismail Resin will supply food-grade rPET that meets the stringent international quality and food safety requirements to leading packaging producers and beverage manufacturers for applications such as bottled water and carbonated soft drinks (CSD), serving both the domestic as well as export markets.
Strategic focus on sustainability and ESG compliance
Ismail Resin’s investment in bottle-to-bottle recycling is driven by a strategic vision that focuses on sustainability, ESG principles, and circular economy practices. “The project contributes to reducing environmental impact through closed-loop recycling, supports livelihoods across Pakistan’s recycling value chain, and advances responsible material management,” explained Zunair Ahmed, Senior General Manager Projects and Sustainability at Ismail Industries. “For us, the key market drivers for the PET bottle-to-bottle recycling project are the increasing sustainability commitment of multinational and local brand owners, as well as export requirements and regulations that mandate recycled content in plastic packaging. In addition, rising awareness of plastic waste and its environmental challenges, and a gradual policy evolution in Pakistan towards recycling and circularity play an important role.” As regulatory incentives in Pakistan are still developing, the industry is primarily driven by brand-led demand and global sustainability targets which define rPET as a critical material for the future.
For more information please visit https://www.ismailresin.com.pk/