ALPLA Group

ALPLA joins forces with Re-Purpose

Stra­tegic part­ner­ship to streng­then the pla­s­tics cycle in South Africa

Hard/Ballito, 27 May 2024 – The ALPLA Group and Re-Purpose have announced a stra­tegic part­ner­ship that will advance sus­tainable pack­a­ging solu­tions and streng­then the feedstock value chain of ALPLA’s very first PET recy­cling faci­lity in Africa.

ALPLA is inves­ting 60 mil­lion euros in the con­s­truc­tion of a state-of-the-art recy­cling plant in Bal­lito in the South African pro­vince of KwaZulu-Natal. Con­s­truc­tion of the plant on the 90,000-square-metre site is well advanced. From the begin­ning of 2025, the plant is expected to pro­duce over 35,000 tonnes of recy­cled PET (rPET) annu­ally. Durban-based Re-Purpose is one of the market lea­ders in the reverse logi­stics of post-consumer pla­stic waste through source-oriented coll­ec­tion pro­grammes. With four mate­rial reco­very faci­li­ties around KwaZulu-Natal, Re-Purpose is deve­lo­ping and empowe­ring local com­mu­ni­ties and buy-back cen­tres to collect and divert a signi­fi­cant volume of pla­stic waste. The model is also crea­ting hundreds of jobs and income for pre­viously dis­ad­van­taged people.

The part­ner­ship com­bines the recy­cling exper­tise of ALPLA and the inno­va­tive reverse logi­stics of Re-Purpose. By joi­ning forces, the two com­pa­nies aim to develop inno­va­tive solu­tions and pro­mote the cir­cular eco­nomy. At the same time, a large number of jobs will be created in KwaZulu-Natal, neigh­bou­ring pro­vinces and poten­ti­ally throug­hout the country.

Cir­cular eco­nomy and waste reduction
As part of the col­la­bo­ra­tion, Re-Purpose will maxi­mise the uti­li­sa­tion of its cur­rent baling cen­tres and set up new cen­tres to make it easier for people to collect PET bot­tles. Re-Purpose will also assist ALPLA in buil­ding a stra­tegic sup­plier base for PET bottle bales and work with key stake­hol­ders to expand com­mu­nity reach and sepa­ra­tion at source pro­grammes. The aim is to con­tri­bute to the coll­ec­tion of 5,000 tons of PET per month. This volume is expected to be required for the full capa­city ope­ra­tion of ALPLA’s recy­cling plant from 2026.

‘We are thrilled to partner with Re-Purpose to acce­le­rate our journey towards a more sus­tainable future. This col­la­bo­ra­tion allows us to expand our port­folio of pack­a­ging solu­tions made from recy­cled PET mate­rial, offe­ring our cus­to­mers in the region inno­va­tive alter­na­tives that align with their sus­taina­bi­lity goals,’ says Dietmar Marin, Mana­ging Director of the Recy­cling Divi­sion at ALPLA.

Re-Purpose brings its exper­tise in baling with state-of-the-art machi­nery and in deve­lo­ping coll­ec­tion models from the source. The part­ner­ship streng­thens the company’s impact and drives the wide­spread adop­tion of coll­ec­tion pro­grammes with buy-back cen­tres, waste pickers and schools. ‘We are excited to join forces with ALPLA to drive inno­va­tion and sus­taina­bi­lity in the recy­cling industry. By com­bi­ning ALPLA’s exten­sive recy­cling expe­ri­ence with our reverse coll­ec­tion model, we are expan­ding the cir­cular eco­nomy and sup­porting manu­fac­tu­rers in achie­ving the required EPR tar­gets,’ says Bevlen Sudhu, Founder and Mana­ging Director of Re-Purpose.

Tog­e­ther, ALPLA and Re-Purpose are com­mitted to dri­ving the deve­lo­p­ment and intro­duc­tion of sus­tainable pack­a­ging solu­tions that benefit busi­nesses, con­su­mers and the envi­ron­ment alike. This part­ner­ship marks a signi­fi­cant step for­ward towards a more cir­cular and sus­tainable environment.

For inqui­ries or fur­ther infor­ma­tion, please contact: hello@re-purpose.co.za or contact-southafrica@alpla.com

Infor­ma­tion about Re-Purpose: https://re-purpose.co.za

About the ALPLA Group
ALPLA is one of the world’s leading companies in the manufacture and recycling of plastic packaging. Around 23,300 employees worldwide produce custom-made packaging systems, bottles, caps and moulded parts at 196 sites across 47 countries. The high-quality packaging is used in a wide range of areas, including for food and drinks, cosmetics and care products, household cleaning products, detergents and cleaning agents, pharmaceutical products, engine oils and lubricants.

ALPLA operates recycling plants for PET and HDPE in Austria, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Romania and Thailand. Other projects are being realised elsewhere around the world.

www.alpla.com

 

Infor­ma­tion for editorial
ALPLA, Erik Nielsen (Team Leader, Cor­po­rate Com­mu­ni­ca­tions), +43 (0)5574 6021 701, erik.nielsen@alpla.com
Pzwei. Pres­se­ar­beit, Joshua Köb, +43 (0)5574 4471 522, joshua.koeb@pzwei.at