[Today Energy reporter Kim Byung-min] Terracle, a company that chemically recycles waste plastics (PET) and textiles through depolymerization, announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Republic of Korea Army's 5th Logistics Support Command (5th LSC) on May 26 for mutual cooperation in waste textile recycling. The agreement is drawing attention as an advanced circular economy model that moves beyond the conventional disposal and incineration of military waste textiles and restores them into high-purity recycled feedstocks through depolymerization.
The 5th LSC, which is at the center of this cooperation, is a key military logistics unit responsible for supply, maintenance, and transportation support for rear-area Army units. Because it supports a large number of units, it has also generated considerable volumes of discarded bedding, mattresses, uniforms, and other textile waste used by service members.
To address this issue, the command created an opportunity to proactively collaborate with advanced private-sector environmental technology through an active-administration initiative. The agreement is expected to establish a precedent in which the military reduces waste-treatment costs while contributing to national carbon-neutrality and resource-circulation goals.
Terracle operates depolymerization technology that breaks down waste plastics and polyester-based waste textiles at the molecular level and returns them to petrochemical feedstocks such as terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). The company describes this as a next-generation recycling technology that overcomes the limitations of conventional mechanical recycling. In 2025, it was selected as a Preliminary Green Unicorn by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.
Terracle recently completed Korea's first hydrolysis-based depolymerization plant, with an annual recycling capacity of 4,000 metric tons, and is preparing for full-scale commercial operation. Beginning in the second half of this year, the company plans to process large volumes of waste generated by the military and support tangible progress toward the government's greenhouse-gas reduction and carbon-neutrality targets.
The government is currently advancing a comprehensive set of measures to replace virgin materials with recycled feedstocks made from waste resources as part of a key national policy agenda aimed at building a sustainable circular economy that reduces dependence on imported petroleum. It is also strengthening policies that gradually expand mandatory recycled-content requirements. As geopolitical risks increase instability in petroleum-based raw-material supply chains, technologies that recover feedstocks from waste are also regarded as essential strategic technologies for national resource security.
Unlike one-off collection campaigns or event-based recycling initiatives, this partnership is based on continuous operations. It is distinguished by establishing a circular structure that uses large-scale defense waste as a resource and converts it into recycled feedstocks that can be used in actual industrial production.
Kibaek Kwon, CEO of Terracle, said, "The 5th Logistics Support Command, a core unit supporting Korea's rear-area military logistics, has taken a landmark step toward activating a public circular economy by proactively establishing a waste-resource circulation system through active administration. Because this is a tailored solution aligned with the government's policy direction on reducing plastic dependence and mandating recycled materials, we plan to expand circular-economy partnerships to other public-sector organizations facing challenges in processing large volumes of uniforms and textile waste."
Terracle is an environmental startup founded in 2021. It chemically recycles PET-based waste plastics and textiles through depolymerization, returning them to the original raw materials TPA (terephthalic acid) and EG (ethylene glycol) for sale. Its core technology is hydrolysis-based depolymerization. The company has completed its first commercial plant in Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, and has raised a total of KRW 15.9 billion from investors including Hyundai Motor Company, DSC Investment, and Envisioning Partners.
Depolymerization = A technology that breaks down macromolecules, plastics, and polymers formed by many bonded molecules through chemical or thermal methods, returning them to their original feedstocks or monomer state.
