Plastipak opens PET recycling facility in Spain

Plastipak, with North American headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan, has announced the formal opening of a major recycling investment at its manufacturing site in Toledo, Spain, by Don Emiliano García-Page, president of the Castilla-La Mancha Region. The new recycling facility converts recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flake into food-grade recycled PET pellets suitable for direct use in new preforms, bottles and containers, the company says. The company first announced the investment in May 2021. 

The new recycling plant will produce 20,000 metric tons of food-grade recycled pellets per year and will eliminate recycled resin transport-related emissions because it is co-located at Plastipak’s current preform manufacturing site. The recycling plant is Plastipak’s fifth such facility, with other recycling plants located in USA, France, Luxembourg and United Kingdom. In Europe, Plastipak is the largest producer of food-grade rPET, with more than 150,000 metric tons of rPET capacity per annum.

Pedro Martins, Plastipak executive managing director Europe, says, “The use of rPET is a key tool in reducing our customer’s Scope 3 related emissions and forms an important part of their ESG- [environmental, social and governance-] packaging related commitments. As well as supporting our customers to reduce their financial obligations under the planned Spanish plastics tax, the plant will also contribute to meeting the minimum recycled content levels mandated by the Single-Use Plastics Directive.”

To support on-site energy generation, the facility incorporates energy-saving technologies and equipment that includes the rooftop installation of more THAN 1,800 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. The PV panels are expected to generate more than 1,339 megawatt-hours of electricity per year that will be consumed entirely on-site, saving more than 443 metric tons of CO2 per year through the avoidance of consumption of electricity from the national grid. This is in addition to the CO2 avoided by using the 20,000 metric tons of recycled resin instead of virgin resin, the company says.

Jack Pacente, vice president of Global Sustainability, says, “We are delighted to open another world-class PET bottle-to-bottle recycling facility, complete with additional investment in emissions-reduction initiatives, demonstrating our leadership in the circular economy. Already, 100 percent of the electricity Plastipak consumes in Europe originates from renewable sources, and the installation of PV panels is our second on-site renewable power generation project in the European region. Long-term emissions reduction is a core pillar of our ESG program, demonstrated by our registered commitment to the Science-Based Target Initiative.”

David Stajninger, Plastipak’s Global Recycling business manager, adds, “Plastipak began recycling postconsumer bottles in 1989 to support our customers at a time when postconsumer resins were not widely available for bottle-to-bottle applications. This expansion further reinforces Plastipak’s global strategy of having high-quality integrated rPET material to continue to meet our customers’ growing needs.”