ALPLA, the international packaging and recycling specialist, is testing a future-proof solution for food-safe HDPE recycled material at a pilot plant in Heerenveen.
In collaboration with the independent technological institute NTCP, the company is evaluating its patented solvent-based process as part of a four-year innovation project funded by the Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth. The project aims to scale up to industrial production in time for the EU’s PPWR 2030 mandate, which requires packaging to contain a minimum proportion of recycled material.
ALPLA and NTCP are working to deliver an affordable, industrial-scale solution for plastic food packaging, as per the two entities.
The patented recycling technology is expected to produce food-safe HDPE recycled material (rHDPE) on an industrial scale for the first time. Following successful laboratory trials, the project partners have now begun intensive testing 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 companies stated.
"The construction and operation of the pilot plant will provide critical insights for scaling the process, and ALPLA has established its own recycling company in the Netherlands to support the initiative."
“To date, there is no certified process in the EU for the production of food-grade HDPE recycled material. Our highly efficient technology for cleaning and processing post-consumer recycled material could be a real game changer,” explains Michael Heyde, Head of Technology Recycling Division at ALPLA.
The company already produces PET and HDPE recycled material at 14 locations worldwide, with a projected installed capacity of 400,000 tonnes, most of which it processes into packaging. Industrializing this new technology could make food packaging made from HDPE widely available for the FMCG market.
“This cooperation with ALPLA fits perfectly to the core activities and mission of NTCP as an independent knowledge institute, to facilitate and accelerate technology developments with frontrunner parties. We believe that new technologies are needed to completely close the plastics value chain while reducing the amount of waste,” emphasises Martine Brandsma, NTCP’s CEO.
