{"id":183307,"date":"2026-11-06T07:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T06:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=183307"},"modified":"2026-11-03T10:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T09:15:42","slug":"the-key-question-is-how-we-can-unlock-the-full-potential-of-recycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/the-key-question-is-how-we-can-unlock-the-full-potential-of-recycling\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe key question is how we can unlock the full potential of recycling\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\"The
The combination of production and recycling gives ALPLA a unique selling point. \u00a9 ALPLA<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

What does it take to turn used plastic into new, high-quality products? By closely integrating production and recycling, the ALPLA Group sets its own standards. Georg L\u00e4sser, Director Business Development, Procurement and Sales Recycling, provides insights into the company’s commitment to quality: a balancing act between material purity and challenging market conditions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The combination of production and recycling gives ALPLA a unique selling point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAnyone who manufactures packaging should also take responsibility for its next life,\u201d says the industry expert.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Recycling has been firmly established at ALPLA for more than 25 years. The goal: a used package becomes a new product of equivalent quality \u2013 following the bottle-to-bottle principle for PET. Worldwide, ALPLA’s 13 recycling plants produce 300,000 tons of rPET and 100,000 tons of rHDPE annually for cosmetics, household cleaners, and oil bottles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guaranteed purity: \u201c\u2026 down to each individual batch\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The combination of production and recycling gives ALPLA a unique selling point: the company knows the requirements of fillers and brand owners firsthand and thinks in terms of raw materials rather than waste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe want to set a benchmark for recycling quality in the market,\u201d emphasizes Georg L\u00e4sser.<\/strong> \u201cThat’s why customers come to us. They know they get good service, top quality, a global presence, and a technological edge.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The purity of the recyclate is verified through criteria such as color, impact strength, and viscosity, using controlled processes and strict certifications. According to the recycling expert, \u201cevery process step can also be traced back to the individual batch and supplier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALPLA also aims to avoid downcycling. The company sells recyclates back to the packaging industry, where possible to maintain the bottle-to-bottle loop. Unlike in the fiber industry, where plastic is often processed into textiles that can no longer be recycled and have no further life cycle, even by-products that do not meet color requirements remain in the technical recycling loop. They are processed into durable applications such as strapping bands. This way, at least the same mechanical properties as those of a recycled bottle are preserved.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"One
One of ALPLA’s 13 recycling plants worldwide; pictured here is the HDPE recycling plant in Venta de Ba\u00f1os, Spain.
\u00a9 ALPLA<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Challenging market: \u201c\u2026 often compares apples to oranges\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Europe, recyclate currently costs 20 to 50 percent more than virgin material. Georg L\u00e4sser makes it clear that, \u201cthe market often compares apples to oranges.\u201d Recyclate must meet the highest standards but is much more complex to produce. At the same time, it offers environmental benefits, which is why virgin and recycled plastics should not be treated as equivalent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHowever,\u201d Georg L\u00e4sser<\/strong> points out, \u201cwhen virgin material prices are higher, recycling becomes somewhat easier from an economic perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In addition, EU regulations are extremely complicated, and effective enforcement against violations is lacking. At every step, companies have to \u201cask the lawyers.\u201d ALPLA has invested heavily and is now waiting \u201cfor consistent enforcement.\u201d Because brand owners are speculating on the 2028 review of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), they are reducing their recycled-content targets to cut costs \u2013 in some cases from 50 to 30 percent or even to zero. This removes thousands of tons of demand from the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThat’s the situation we’re facing at the moment,\u201d explains L\u00e4sser.<\/strong> Yet investments require certainty: \u201cYou only start investing, of course, if you have planning security.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

AI application: \u201c\u2026 doesn’t replace the circular economy, but it helps\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite these uncertainties, ALPLA continues to invest in sorting technologies, AI-based quality control, decontamination, and digitalization. The share of post-consumer recycled (PCR) material is set to increase to 30 percent by 2030, with the strategic focus until 2028 on high-quality food-grade recyclates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mechanical recycling \u2013 jokingly referred to internally as \u201cwashing, blow-drying, and styling\u201d \u2013 remains the preferred option, with payback periods of five to ten years. Chemical recycling plays only a supplementary role, as the company deliberately wants to \u201cavoid going back a step in the polymer chain,\u201d especially since it generates significantly more CO\u2082. Initiatives such as \u201cHolyGrail 2.0\u201d (digital watermarks) still lack market relevance. A \u201cRecycled in Europe\u201d label could help build trust, but the recycling executive warns that it \u201cmust not lead to additional bureaucracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Georg
Georg L\u00e4sser \u00a9 ALPLA<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The existing gap: \u201c\u2026 Starts at collection\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest challenges remains the availability of raw materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According to Georg L\u00e4sser<\/strong>, the actual gap begins at the collection stage: \u201cWhat isn’t collected can’t be recycled.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While PET recycling remains relatively stable, polyolefins (HDPE\/PP) are under price pressure due to more complex sorting processes and cheap virgin material. Following the current weakness in demand, the opposite situation could emerge from 2030 onward as the PPWR’s mandatory recycled-content quotas take effect. ALPLA is therefore expanding capacity, focusing on design for recycling, and establishing long-term partnerships along the value chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key technology for the future is the further development of the Polymac technology. With this new solvent-based process, ALPLA aims to close a market gap and produce food-grade rHDPE to meet the PPWR quotas from 2030. The project will be tested over four years in a pilot plant together with the technology institute NTCP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis will massively strengthen our technological independence,\u201d emphasizes Georg L\u00e4sser.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The goal is to use the company’s in-house plant engineering expertise to make high-quality recycled materials available in time for demanding packaging applications.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"A
A key advantage in experience: By closely integrating production and recycling, ALPLA knows the requirements of fillers and brand owners firsthand. \u00a9 ALPLA<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Conclusion: \u201cPlastic recycling is already a reality\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The task now is to harmonize framework conditions, review legislative requirements, and design packaging for circularity. A prerequisite is that waste is properly separated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe circular economy is not a stand-alone project. It only works when policymakers, industry, and consumers all pull together,\u201d the recycling director<\/strong> emphasizes in closing. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

If that happens, the full potential of recycling can be unlocked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What does it take to turn used plastic into new, high-quality products? By closely integrating production and recycling, the ALPLA Group sets its own standards. Georg L\u00e4sser, Director Business Development, Procurement and Sales Recycling, provides insights into the company’s commitment to quality: a balancing act between material purity and challenging market conditions. The combination of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":183340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Brandsowner reducing their recycled-content targets \/ Georg L\u00e4sser: \u201eWhat isn't collected can't be recycled\u201c","footnotes":""},"categories":[17143],"tags":[24550,10416,22485,23180,14462,22835,10453,24062],"supplier":[22494,27130],"class_list":["post-183307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recycling","tag-arteficialintelligence","tag-circulareconomy","tag-hdpe","tag-packagingwaste","tag-plasticwaste","tag-recyclates","tag-recycling","tag-rpet","supplier-alpla-group","supplier-national-test-centre-circular-plastics-ntcp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183307"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183364,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183307\/revisions\/183364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183307"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=183307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}