Alpla partners with Henkel to produce recycled-content detergent bottle

The Austrian plastics packaging company Alpla, along with the consumer brands company Henkel, has completed a pilot project at Alpla’s Holthausen, Germany, facility, which resulted in the introduction of a detergent bottle containing 15 percent recycled HDPE. A total of 60,000 bottles were produced using the recycled HDPE.

In addition to packaging plants, Alpla has significant experience in the recycled PET market due to the company the company operating PET recycling plants in Mexico, Poland and Austria. In fact, the company estimates that it presently uses around 20 percent recycled PET at its 10 largest production sites.

However, the company notes that its background in using recycled HDPE is not as substantial. However, following research and development over the past two years with Henkel, the company has introduced a detergent bottle that contains 15 percent recycled HDPE. “We are aiming to change this in the future,” says ALPLA CCO Nicolas Lehner.

“It is significantly more difficult to recycle HDPE than PET. Obtaining the granulate material in high quality is a challenge,” says Packaging Manager Israel Garcia Granados. “After two years of development work, we have achieved an optimal result. The close collaboration with Henkel was of great benefit. We have gained valuable expertise.”

“We believe in recycling because it is correct from an ideological standpoint, and we want to provide our customers with competent support with regard to their sustainability strategies,” says Nicolas Lehner, Alpla’s chief commercial officer. “Legislation and consumers are also placing increasing demands on the issue.”

In 2015, the EU Commission published a set of measures for the circular economy, to which the European Council of Environment Ministers committed at the end of June 2016. The action plan includes targets regarding the recycling rates of packaging waste, restrictions on the landfilling of waste, economic incentives for more environmentally friendly products and support for recovery and recycling systems. “The latest figures show that Europe still has a long way to go to reach the ambitious targets. The pressure will increase over the coming years,” says Lehner.