Extrusion International 6-2021

46 Extrusion International 6/2021 RECYCLING “PRT Targu Mures” Joint Venture Promotes a Bottle-to-Bottle Cycle By creating the planned PET Recy- cling Team Targu Mures joint ven- ture, ALPLA and companies Ecohelp SRL (Romania) and United Polymer Trading AG (Switzerland) are each investing equally in the installation of an extrusion line to recycle post-con- sumer PET bottles at the Romanian partner’s site. They aim to produce 15,000 tonnes of food-grade post- consumer recycled PET (rPET) each year. The rPET granulate will then be used to manufacture new preforms and bottles, with an intention to strengthen the local materials cycle within the Central and South-Eastern Europe region. €7.5 million. The plant expansion will create 15 new jobs at the site in Targu Mures. Supporting the local circular economy ALPLA Chairman Günther Lehner, who is responsible for developing the company’s Sustainability and Cir- cular Economy departments, empha- sises the signi fi cance of the invest- ment: „Our aim at ALPLA now and in the future is to establish a bottle- to-bottle cycle – including in regions in which the collection and recycling of waste still has potential for devel- opment. By participating in this joint venture, we are taking a strategically Three partners, three different areas of expertise The three partners contribute differ- ent areas of expertise to the joint ven- ture. While ALPLA acts as a recycling specialist and a preform and bottle manufacturer, Ecohelp supplies base material in the formof PET fl akes that will go through an extrusion process to produce high-grade rPET granules. UPT in turn co-owns the rPET Upcy- cling facility Cumapol Emmen in The Netherlands and specialises in trad- ing plastics and recycled material. The entire amount being invested in the plant and the associated building and infrastructure comes to roughly The ALPLA Group, the global packaging solutions and recycling specialist, is investing in the construction of a recycling plant in Targu Mures, Romania as part of a joint venture with its partners. The plastic granulate recycled there in the future will come from PET bottles collected from household waste and will be used to manufacture new PET bottles By establishing a joint venture called PET Recycling Team TarguMures, ALPLA and companies Ecohelp and UPT are investing in the construction of a recycling plant for PET (Copyright: ALPLA)