Alpla launches new Alplarecycling brand
ALPLA has been committed to plastics recycling for years and is now consolidating all of its recycling activities under the new ALPLArecycling brand.
Alpla is consolidating all of its activities under a new brand Alplarecycling after investing millions in new sites in South Africa, Romania and Thailand as well as in a site expansion in Poland.
The globally active Alpla Group has been investing in building up its own recycling capacities since 2005. The plastic packaging company now operates 13 plants, including four joint ventures with regional partners, and aims to be processing at least 25 per cent post-consumer material (PCR) by 2025.
Alpla is focusing on mechanical recycling and has invested more than €50 million a year in the global expansion of its activities since 2021. Thanks to new plants, the expansion of existing facilities, joint ventures and strategic acquisitions, the annual installed and projected output capacity has since doubled to 350,000 tonnes of PCR material. Together with the construction of a new facility in South Africa as recently announced and the site expansion in Poland, the annual capacity amounts to 266,000 tonnes of rPET (recycled PET) and 84,000 tonnes of rHDPE (recycled HDPE).
About 1.100 Alpla employees work on recycling. In addition to the production of high-quality rPET and rHDPE at 13 plants, including four joint ventures with regional partners, the company focuses on the development of sustainable packaging solutions with a high proportion of recycled materials, optimum recyclability and low weight. The growing importance of the recycling sector, strong expansion and increasing demand have now led to the establishment of the Alplarecycling brand together with its own website.
“Every year, we are producing more high-quality, affordable and sustainable packaging from used packaging. With our own production, development and material optimisation, we ensure quality and quantity, while also strengthening regional and national recycling loops,” emphasises Alpla CEO Philipp Lehner. “Recycling plastics reduces carbon consumption by up to 90 per cent, reduces waste and creates value and jobs at the sites.
“Our many years of expertise and access to our own materials give our customers a competitive advantage. The new brand is a clear commitment to recycling and to our expansion plans in growth markets,” explains Dietmar Marin, managing director of the Recycling division at Alpla. In the coming years, the company will intensify its activities in areas such as southern Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
Alpla currently processes 20 per cent PCR material and aims to increase this to at least 25 per cent by 2025. In addition, all packaging solutions are to be fully recyclable by then. The company has been part of the New Plastics Economy, an initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, since 2018.
