PetStar, Coca-Cola Boost Toluca PET Recycling Capacity

PetStar and its Coca-Cola Mexico shareholders have inaugurated a major expansion of the company’s food-grade PET recycling facility in Toluca, strengthening Mexico’s position in circular-economy initiatives. The MX$2.6 billion (US$141.7 million) investment brings PetStar’s total historical investment to MX$5.1 billion (US$278 million) and raises the plant’s annual production capacity of food-grade recycled resin from 50,000 to 86,000 tons. To achieve that output, the facility will process more than 123,000 tons of PET waste per year—the equivalent of 5.5 billion bottles—all of which will be reincorporated into the value chains of Arca Continental, Coca-Cola Mexico, Bepensa, Corporación del Fuerte, Grupo RICA, Grupo Embotellador Nayar and Embotelladora de Colima.

At the inauguration ceremony, Mexico’s Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Alicia Bárcena said the plant reinforces Mexico’s leadership in recycling: “It is an honor to be here at such a meaningful moment for PetStar— a 100% Mexican enterprise— which has made our country a global reference for food-grade PET recycling.” Bárcena noted that she frequently highlights the project abroad, most recently at COP30 in Brazil. “Many countries are talking about the circular economy, and I told them that Mexico has the largest and most important PET recycling company in the world,” she said.

She placed PetStar’s model within the government’s broader transition toward circularity, noting that the country generates around 120,000 tons of waste per day. “We cannot continue like this,” she said. “We must transform waste into a resource, as PetStar has done.” Bárcena linked this effort to the proposed General Law on Circular Economy, pending in the Chamber of Deputies, which aims to establish clearer regulatory frameworks, producer-responsibility systems and tools to help companies adopt circular production models. She stressed the involvement of Concamin and industry representatives in co-designing the legislation, calling their role “crucial” to ensuring technical viability.

Bárcena also said PetStar represents the inclusive value chain the government seeks to expand nationwide, integrating waste pickers, collectors and processors into a unified system. She argued that this model helps counter civil-society concerns that circular-economy policies could obscure pollution problems or offer undue protection to industry. “This is not about hiding environmental issues,” she said. “It is about supporting companies like PetStar so we can advance toward circularity while listening to communities, Indigenous peoples and environmental defenders.”

Jorge H. Santos, chairman, Arca Continental, said coordinated action among government, civil society and the private sector is essential to meeting Mexico’s sustainability goals. “Everyone has a responsibility to care for the planet, and this is a clear example that together we can make things happen,” he said. Concamin president Alejandro Malagón added that the project demonstrates how sustainability commitments can be translated into operational results.

PetStar CEO Jaime Cámara described the expansion as part of a 30-year effort to strengthen Mexico’s recycling infrastructure. He noted that the company has been carbon-neutral since 2020 and is advancing toward water neutrality. Cámara reaffirmed PetStar’s commitment to eliminating child labor from its supply chain and said the company supports more than 49,000 waste pickers nationwide. He added that the expansion will increase PetStar’s collection centers from 8 to 32, supporting 2,200 direct jobs and 49,000 indirect jobs.