Austrian plastics manufacturer and recycler Alpla, together with its partners Ecohelp SRL (Romania) and United Polymer Trading AG (Switzerland), started production at their joint recycling plant in Targu Mures, Romania. The construction of the new state-of-the-art factory took nine months and required a total investment of EUR 7.5 million.

The plant, located not far from the existing Ecohelp site in Targu Mures, has an annual capacity of around 18,000 tonnes of post-consumer-recycled PET (rPET) per year. It also created about 20 new jobs.

The joint undertaking PET Recycling Team Targu Mures supplies the southeast European market with food-grade rPET and thus promotes the circular economy in the region.

“Now, the first extrusion line for the production of high-quality rPET granulate from PET flakes has entered into operation. The joint venture partners will host the official opening ceremony on May 4, 2023,” reads the press release.

The joint venture was established in the autumn of 2021. Alpla brings its expertise as a global recycling specialist and packaging manufacturer to the partnership, while United Polymer Trading (UPT) has an extensive distribution network for plastics and recycled material. Meanwhile, local company Ecohelp supplies the material in the form of recycled PET flakes based on PET bottles from household waste. The food-grade rPET granulate obtained from this process then serves as the starting material for new preforms and bottles.

Alpla is one of the world’s leading companies in manufacturing and reusing plastic packaging. Around 23,300 employees worldwide produce custom-made packaging systems, bottles, caps and moulded parts at 190 sites in 46 countries.

The company operates recycling plants for PET and HDPE in Austria, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Romania, and Thailand. In total, the annual production capacity of Alpla’s recycling companies and collaborations around the world amounts to approximately 203,000 tonnes of rPET and 74,000 tonnes of rHDPE.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the company)