Alpla UK to focus on regional PET recyclate

Alpla UK, a subsidiary of plastics and recycling major Alpla Group, and British waste management company Biffa have come together to boost the use of recyclates in packaging of household products.

From May, Alpla UK will source food-grade polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) plastic pellets from the Biffa recycling plant at Seaham on the north-east coast. The new product will be used for the manufacture of home care packaging and should mean an increase in the amount of recycled plastic used in day-to-day household products such as washing-up liquid and cleaning products.

Major investments

In February, the Alpla Group announced it was investing up to EUR 250 million between now and 2025 to extend its global recycling activities in order to close the materials loop in as many regions as possible.

‘The collaboration with Biffa goes along with our aim to push worldwide closed-loop systems on a local level,’ says Tasos Pourloukakis, UK director at Alpla Group. ‘This approach guarantees the highest possible collection rates, recyclability and quality of the materials. It also reduces the logistical effort related to our packaging solutions.’

Tackling 1.3 billion bottles

Biffa invested EUR 28 million in the Seaham recycling plant which opened in 2020 and can process the equivalent of 1.3 billion bottles a year. The company has set itself an ambitious goal to quadruple its plastics recycling capacity by 2030.

The partnership with Alpla will contribute to Biffa’s strategic ambition of ‘a more sustainable future built around a circular economy,’  according to Chris Hanlon, commercial director at Biffa Polymers.