GS Caltex said Wednesday it will utilize oil extracted from plastic waste as a feedstock to manufacture petrochemical products to bolster its environmental, social and governance efforts.

According to the South Korean total energy company, it will begin pilot production of petrochemical products with 500,000 tons of plastic waste oil at the firm’s plant located in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.

“If the pilot project proves successful, GS Caltex will review new investments for building a waste plastic oil production facility with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons to operate it starting 2024. The goal is to expand the capacity to 1 million tons,” a company official said.

When plastic waste is heated up through a process called pyrolysis, oil can be extracted. This oil can replace conventional carbon-intensive, fossil fuel-based feedstock.

With the plastic waste oil, GS Caltex will produce propylene at its Yeosu facility. Then, propylene will be used as a raw material to manufacture plastic products. GS Caltex’s goal is to create a circular economy for plastic from its production, consumption to recycling.

“For the industry to become low-carbon and energy-efficient, it’s crucial to transform the current linear economic structure, which thinks waste generation is inevitable, into a circular structure through recycling and upcycling,” GS Caltex President and CEO Hur Sae-hong said.