Breathing new (intelligent) life in plastics

Based in Ospedaletto di Istrana, near Treviso (Italy), Aliplast processes 70 thousand tons of plastic materials each year. It has just concluded two important trade fairs - Plast and Ipack-Ima - where it has introduced cutting-edge innovations in the field of plastic packaging recycling. It is the first Italian company to independently and autonomously manage the whole integrated cycle of plastics; thanks to the recognition that it received in August 2014 from the Italian Environment Ministry for its PARI system (which is the Italian acronym for “Autonomous Packaging Refuse Handling Plan”). The recycler combines the emission onto the market of manufactured packaging items and materials, above all products made of recycled materials, together with environmental services for the handling and collection of packaging, scrap and waste, which is then used for feeding its recycling processes so as to obtain high quality regenerated polymers to be used in its own production operations and marketed in Italy and abroad.

The figures of the corporate activities of this Venetian company reflect its sensitive approach to the use of raw materials, the reduction in waste, and the minimal processing impact that has been achieved. There have been several initiatives promoted in the local area in order to raise public awareness on the correct handling of plastic packaging, which has the potential to return to a new life, reducing environmental impact and assuring maximum safety; this also includes the bottle-to-bottle recycling campaign devised in partnership with Ferrarelle.

At the Ipack-Ima, for example, Aliplast presented a Reverse Vending Machine by Eurven, a company that produces incentive separated collection systems. So that each visitor that returned an empty PET bottle, received a free personalized Ferrarelle-Aliplast bottle of water, which reiterated the meaning of the initiative: “This bottle has a virtual packaging, it is re-used several times if entered into the right supply chain. Quality recycling makes the best use of your packaging, giving them a new lease of life, reducing environmental impact and assuring maximum safety”.

Alessandro Stocco, marketing manager of Aliplast commented: “This campaign aims to highlight how our company can legitimately be considered as not only a reliable supplier of packaging and environmental management services, but also as an ideal partner for the development of customized solutions starting from waste management to the supply of new packaging or regenerated polymers”. The company, which has over 200 employees, in fact recycles over 1.2 billion PET bottles and 270 million square metres of PE packaging waste, covering a surface area equivalent to no less than 36800 football pitches - as well as other treated materials.