R icardo Ibánez’s future seems assured: all he hasto do is look over the fence around his facility to
see that there will be more than enough agricultural
plastic for him to recycle in the coming years.
Ibacplast, a family-owned company specialising
in the recycling of plastic bags and agricultural
plastic, is located in the heart of the world’s largest
continuous area of greenhouse farming. This ‘ocean
of plastic’ covers the coastal region of the Spanish
province of Almería, hidden in the eastern section of
Andalusia. This semi-arid area is by far the
warmest region in Europe, making it an ideal place
in winter for cultivating the fresh vegetables need-
ed to satisfy Western Europe’s hunger for such
products. As a result, the area covered by plastic
greenhouses has grown explosively over the last
30 years and now covers roughly 26 000 hectares.
‘Hideous – all these greenhouses,’ says Mary, who
is travelling for a year around Europe with her hus-
band Nick. These two Aussies have fled from the
bad weather in Ireland to enjoy some sun in
Almería. Her perspective on the greenhouses just
proves once again that, as the saying goes, ‘beauty
is in the eye of the beholder’. After all, these
‘hideous’ greenhouses produce tons of fresh vegeta-
bles and have brought such economic prosperity to
the area that local inhabitants undoubtedly view
them in a more friendly light.
The greenhouses also produce end-of-life plastics:
once considered a waste to be burned or dumped in
the nearest ravine, these are now considered to be a
valuable secondary raw material.
P L A S T I C S R E C Y C L I N G
Recycling International • March 2008 62
Rising oil prices have led to increased interest in the recycling of
plastics. Firms processing plastic granulate are scouring the world
for the best and cheapest sources of such materials. As Recycling
International discovered, the success of greenhouse farming in
southern Spain has made available for recycling enormous quanti-
ties of end-of-life agricultural plastic.
By Lydia Heida
Bumper plastics crop
harvested for recycling
Agricultural plastic is blotting the landscape
in the Spanish province of Almería.
Juan de Dios Mellado, one of the three share-
holders of Denplax.
Ricardo Ibánez of Spanish plastics recycling company Ibacplast.
RI_049 Plastic RI SPAIN:Opmaak 1 28-02-2008 11:55 Pagina 62
