Alpla launches new recycling brand and invests €50M to expand global activities

27 Jul 2023 --- Alpla is now operating its recycling activities under the brand Alplarecycling. Alpla has been investing in building up its recycling capacities since 2005. The plastic packaging company now operates 13 plants, including four joint ventures with regional partners, aiming to process 25% of its post-consumer recyclate (PCR) by 2025.

“Under the brand Alplarecycling, all activities and efforts of the company in the recycling sector are consolidated. PET and HDPE are [the materials] recycled,” Lukas Österle, senior sustainability communications manager at Alpla, tells Packaging Insights.

“The goal of achieving 25% PCR material is linked to the Global Commitment of the New Plastics Economy, which Alpla signed in 2018. This means that the proportion of processed PCR materials in the overall material input is intended to reach 25% by 2025. Currently, this value stands at 20%.”

After investing millions in new sites in South Africa, Romania and Thailand and in a site expansion in Poland, Alpla is consolidating all of its activities under the new brand Alplarecycling.

PCR material
Österle explains that the biggest challenge for raising the PCR material amount lies in ensuring supply. “To accomplish this and provide enough recycling material to customers, Alpla is investing around €50 million [US$ 55.5 million] annually in recycling efforts until 2025.”

Recycling plastics reduces carbon consumption, reduces waste and creates value and jobs at the sites, asserts Alpla.Due to the mechanical recycler’s new plants, the expansion of existing facilities, joint ventures and strategic acquisitions, the annual installed and projected output capacity has doubled to 350,000 metric tons of PCR material.

Wth the construction of a new facility in South Africa, and the site expansion in Poland, the annual capacity amounts to 266,000 metric tons of recycled PET (rPET) and 84,000 metric tons of recycled high-density PE (rHDPE).

Furthermore, about 1,100 Alpla employees work on recycling. In addition to producing high-quality rPET and rHDPE at 13 plants, including four joint ventures with regional partners, the company focuses on developing environmentally sustainable packaging solutions with a high proportion of recycled materials, optimum recyclability and low weight.

Plastic recycling benefits
Recycling plastics reduces carbon consumption by up to 90%, reduces waste and creates value and jobs at the sites, asserts the company.

The growing importance of the recycling sector, expansion and increasing demand have now led to the establishment of the Alplarecycling brand and its website. On the website, one can find comprehensive information about recycling at Alpla, the products available and the locations of the recycling plants and joint ventures.

“Every year, we are producing more high-quality, affordable and sustainable packaging from used packaging. With our own production, development and material optimization, we ensure quality and quantity while strengthening regional and national recycling loops,” emphasizes Alpla’s CEO, Philipp Lehner.

“The new brand is a clear commitment to recycling and our expansion plans in growth markets,” adds Dietmar Marin, managing director of Alpla’s Recycling division.

“In the coming years, the company will intensify its activities in areas such as southern Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Interest in sustainable packaging is growing all over the world. We are present as pioneers in all the regions of the world and are already a strong partner for future solutions.”

By Natalie Schwertheim

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