The Alpla Group, together with its partners, Ecohelp and United Polymer Trading (Switzerland), opened in Târgu Mures its first PET recycling factory in Romania, built in nine months, with an investment of 7.5 million euros. The PET Recycling Team factory has started production and the joint venture is going to deliver 18,000 tons of recycled plastic per year.
The company will supply the South-East European market with food-grade rPET, thus promoting the circular economy in the region.
The joint venture, which came into being in the fall of 2021, combines the skill sets of the three companies involved. Alpla brings many years of experience as a global recycling specialist and packaging manufacturer, while United Polymer Trading (UPT) has an extensive distribution network for plastics and recycled materials. The local company Ecohelp SRL supplies PET flakes recycled from PET bottles collected from household waste. The food grade rPET granules obtained through this process then serve as raw material for new preforms and bottles.
“The increasing importance of local recycling processes requires increasing involvement in the region. We have joined forces with our partners to increase the processing quality of PET recycled material and to provide this material, in the long term, markets in South-Eastern Europe,” said Georg Lasser, director of business development, acquisitions and sales of the recycling division within ALPLA.
According to him, the expansion potential has already been identified – the factory’s capacity can be doubled by installing a second extrusion line, for which there is already space allocated.
“This collaboration is a clear example of how local recycling efforts can be improved to ensure economic development on a sustainable basis. We are filling a gap in the market for high-quality recycled materials in Romania and neighboring countries,” also said Mihail Moloiu, general manager of the PET Recycling Team Târgu Mureş factory.
The new recycling facility created approximately 20 new jobs.
Until 2025, Alpla will invest 50 million euros per year in the continuous expansion of its recycling activities. Also, the company intends to globalize its activities in the field of high-quality recycling.