Swiss chemical recycling company DePoly has inaugurated its demonstration plant in Monthey, Switzerland, marking a major step in its journey toward commercialising circular solutions for PET and polyester recycling. The new facility will support process optimisation, customer validation and the scale-up of DePoly’s recycling technology as the company prepares for its first full-scale commercial plant.
The inauguration took place on 6–7 July 2026, when DePoly welcomed industrial partners, investors, institutional representatives and media to tour the facility and discuss the future of circular plastics and textile recycling.
New demonstration plant marks key scale-up milestone
Founded in 2020, DePoly specialises in the chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyester plastics. The company’s technology is designed to break PET waste down into its original chemical building blocks, allowing it to produce virgin-quality raw materials suitable for use in a wide range of PET applications.
The new demonstration plant is located in Monthey’s Industrial Park (CIMO) in Switzerland, a site chosen for its industrial infrastructure, chemical expertise and proximity to DePoly’s headquarters in Valais. According to the company, the location offers the right environment to accelerate deployment while benefiting from an established industrial ecosystem.
Plant to process 500 tonnes annually
DePoly said the demonstration plant has a nominal processing capacity of around 500 tonnes of feedstock per year. The company added that the site will play a central role in optimising its depolymerisation process, qualifying raw materials with industrial customers and generating operational data for future commercial-scale deployment.
The investment has also created 12 direct jobs and more than 30 indirect jobs, supporting local industrial activity while helping build capabilities in circular materials processing.
Technology targets virgin-quality output from difficult waste streams
DePoly’s recycling process is based on light-activated chemical depolymerisation, which the company says can process PET in under 60 minutes without requiring high temperatures or added pressure. The technology is designed to recover PET’s original monomers so they can be reused in existing industrial manufacturing systems without compromising quality.
The company says the process can handle a broad range of waste streams, including:
- food packaging
- polyester textiles
- complex plastic films
- coloured PET waste
- contaminated PET materials
This flexibility is expected to make the technology relevant for industries looking to increase recycled content while reducing dependence on fossil-based raw materials.
Commercial plant targeted at 50,000 tonnes per year
DePoly said the Monthey facility will act as a blueprint for its commercial expansion plans. Lessons learned from the demonstration plant will directly support the development of the company’s first commercial recycling plant, which is already in preparation.
The planned commercial unit is expected to target a capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year, with the site announcement anticipated in the first half of 2027.
Supporting circularity in plastics and textiles
The company believes its recycling technology can contribute to solving both environmental and industrial challenges by turning local PET and polyester waste into high-quality raw materials. In addition to reducing plastic and textile waste, the process could help improve raw material security, strengthen supply chain resilience and support decarbonisation in sectors such as textiles, automotive and electronics.
With the inauguration of its Monthey demonstration plant, DePoly has taken an important step from laboratory innovation to industrial implementation, positioning itself to scale chemical recycling solutions for polyester and PET waste in the years ahead.