Alpla secures grant and sets up recycling plant for food grade rHDPE

German packaging firm Alpla is working on a solution for food-safe HDPE recycled material. The company says it is now evaluating the patented solvent-based process at a pilot plant in Heerenveen in collaboration with the independent technological institute NTCP.

The innovation project, which is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth, will run for four years. Just in time for the start of the PPWR2030, the solution will be scaled up to industrial production.

Following several years of R&D with successful laboratory results, the two project partners have just started evaluating the solvent-based process at the NTCP site in Heerenveen.

Intensive testing of all process steps of the patented technology will be performed as part of a collaborative innovation project. The aim is to obtain approval from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in the near future. The construction and operation of the pilot plant will provide valuable insights for scaling up the process.

Alpla has also set up its own recycling company in the Netherlands for this purpose.

The company already produces PET and HDPE recycled material in its own recycling division at 14 locations worldwide, with 400 000 tonnes installed and projected recycling output capacity. ALPLA processes most of this material itself into packaging. The future industrialisation of this innovative technology should enable readily available food packaging made from rHDPE for the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) market.

The future industrialisation of this new technology should enable readily available food packaging made from rHDPE for the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) market, it adds.

The pilot project is being carried out with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth.