Plastic recycler Green Tech issues carbon credits

Green Tech, a plastics recycling company based in Bucharest, Romania, that is part of the wider Green Group family, has been endorsed by Gold Standard, Geneva, for issuing carbon credits for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature and other international nongovernmental organizations established Gold Standard in 2003 “to ensure projects that reduced carbon emissions featured the highest levels of environmental integrity and also contributed to sustainable development,” the organization’s website notes. When the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted, Gold Standard launched a best practice standard for climate and sustainable development interventions, Gold Standard for the Global Goals.

Green Tech’s Emissions Reductions from PET Recycling initiative applies PET waste frameworks through PET recycling, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from the production of plastic products made using virgin inputs.

As a result of the evaluation performed by Gold Standard, Green Tech is estimated to issue approximately 453,000 carbon credits on the voluntary carbon offset market with an estimated annual average GHG emissions reduction of 45,380 tons of carbon dioxide per year over the 10-year crediting period. The carbon credits will then be sold to companies attempting to reach decarbonization targets or individuals who want to reduce or neutralize their carbon footprints. 

For the first monitoring period, Green Tech says it has received approximately 63,000 carbon credits, some of which have already been purchased by clients who are committed to achieving net-zero emissions in the near term. Carbon credits can be purchased directly from Green Tech or from the Gold Standard platform.

Alina Elena Genes, Green Tech general manager, says, “It’s a great honor for the company to be recognized by such a world-renowned organization, proof that recycling of plastics has become essential in fighting global warming. We take great pride in becoming the first recycling company in Europe to achieve this recognition, and we believe this shows not only our commitment to reducing carbon emissions but also highlights our mission to create a sustainable and fair environment, both on a national and European level.”

Genes says the price paid for carbon credits continues to increase in response to the benefits of these projects. “We are confident this trend will continue in the future.”

The company's Gold Standard certified CO2 emissions project also includes recycled PEET that is used to produce Green Fiber, a Green Tech brand of polyester staple fibers.

Established in 2002, Green Tech, which has been majority-owned by Abris Capital Partners since 2016, has recycling facilities in Romania, Slovakia and Lithuania. The company says it has the capacity to process 150,000 tons per year of PET scrap.