Placon’s PET project closes the loop

USA – Placon, a US thermoformer and plastic sheet extruder, has opened a closed-loop PET recycling facility. The company claims it is one of the first producers of plastics food and consumer packaging to recycle post-consumer bottles as well as thermoformed material in-house.

A 7000 square metre facility at Placon’s headquarters in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, operates as a standalone manufacturing unit under its own EcoStar brand name. EcoStar purchases bales of post-consumer PET bottles, mainly collected at the kerbside in the US Midwest, together with mixed bales of post-consumer thermoformed packaging, and processes the material into sheet and flake.
At full capacity, the facility will process 18 000 tonnes of inbound material per year. The sheet extrusion plant is right alongside the washing and recycle equipment, bringing environmental benefits, claimed Placon CEO Dan Mohs.
‘We are excited about our new EcoStar facility as it enables us to produce consumer packaging from 100% post-consumer PET recyclate,’ Mr Mohs said.
‘Our $14 million investment demonstrates our commitment to sustainable packaging and the reduction of solid waste. We believe the best way to reduce energy consumption and conserve resources is to recycle plastic packaging back into plastic packaging.’