Alpla opens Romanian PET recycling plant to meet rising market demand

02 Feb 2023 --- Alpla Group, together with its joint venture partners Ecohelp and United Polymer Trading (UPT), has opened its first PET recycling plant in Targu Mures, Romania, after nine months of construction and an investment of around €7.5 million (US$8.2 million). 

The plant will now produce around 18,000 metric tons of recycled material per year from household waste. In the joint undertaking, PET recycling team Targu Mures supplies the Southeast European market with food-grade recycled PET (rPET) and thus promotes the circular economy in the region. 

“Availability of high-quality rPET is very low in Romania today, which is why we are coming on stream. We want to supply the highest PCR quality for the highest quality products,” Georg Lässer, director of business development, procurement and sales recycling at Alpla, tells PackagingInsights. 

He continues by saying that it would be possible to export the rPET granulate within the EU, “but preferred within Romania or to surrounding countries.”

Local recycling demand
The three companies’ new plant is an adjacent site to an existing Ecohelp site in Targu Mures. 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.

Lässer highlights that local recycling processes are becoming increasingly important. “Because of better logistic availability and logistic prices, lower CO2 footprint, our aim is to establish regional closed loops,” he explains. 

At the new plant, the joint venture PET recycling team Targu Mures produces rPET granulate based on bottles from household waste. “The growing importance of local recycling processes calls for increased commitment in the region. Together with our partners, we combine strengths, increase the processing quality of the rPET material and ensure the long-term supply of the southeast European market,” says Lässer.

Furthermore, Alpla says that the plant has space for a second extrusion line, which would double capacity.

Successful partnership
The joint venture, which was established in autumn 2021, combines the skill sets of the three companies involved. Alpla brings its many years of expertise as a global recycling specialist and packaging manufacturer, while United Polymer Trading (UPT) has an extensive distribution network for plastics and recycled material. 

The 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. 

“The collaboration is a great example of how to improve local recycling and ensure sustainable economic development. We are filling a gap in the market for high-quality recycled material in Romania and neighboring countries,” says Mihail Moloiu, general manager at PET Recycling Team Targu Mures. The new recycling plant has created around 20 new jobs. 

Global expansion of recycling activities
Furthermore, Alpla says that the plant has space for a second extrusion line, which would double capacity.

Alpla is investing €50 million (US$55 million) a year until 2025 in the ongoing expansion of its recycling activities. With its activities for the production of high-quality recycled materials, the global company is promoting complete recycling in as many parts of the world as possible. 

In total, the annual production capacity of Alpla’s recycling companies and collaborations around the world amounts to approximately 203,000 metric tons of rPET and 74,000 metric tons of recycled high-density PE (rHDPE).

Last year, Alpla’s Spanish recycling plants reported that their rHDPE generates 88% fewer carbon equivalent emissions than virgin material. The finding came from an analysis by the independent business consultancy c7-consult. 

By Natalie Schwertheim