Merseburg site certified to treat waste from plastic films
In April 2021, the renowned recyclability certifier ARGE cyclos / HTP audited APK’s recycling facility in Merseburg for conformance with the EuCertPlast certification scheme. The audit focussed on the suitability of APK’s plants for the recycling of post-consumer waste from plastic films as well as of waste from PE/PA multilayer film production. All test requirements were successfully fulfilled and in July 2021 ARGE cyclos / HTP awarded APK the official EuCertPlast certificate. “This certificate is extremely important to us, as we see a growing number of brand owners and plastic converters across Europe requesting EuCertPlast as certification standard”, noted Florian Riedl, Director of Business Development at APK AG. “The certificate provides third-party-verified proof to our customers that we are able to valorise post-consumer plastics in our plant and that we do so with respect for the environment”.
Newcycling® technology by APK
Newcycling®, APK’s dissolution recycling process, can easily separate the different polymers found in multilayer plastic packaging – deemed non-recyclable until now – and transform the target polymer into re-granulates with close to virgin properties. Dissolution recycling is an advanced physical recycling technology. Building on a mechanical pre-treatment, it adds a solvent-based process step, during which the target polymer is dissolved, separated, and purified. Contaminants, such as pigments, printing inks, organic residues, or additives, are removed. The Newcycling® technology can treat waste from PE/PA multilayer film production as well as post-consumer plastic film waste from household collection.
EuCertPlast certification scheme
Established in 2012, EuCertPlast is a Europe-wide harmonised certification scheme based on the European Standard EN 15343:2007: ‘Plastics. Recycled plastics. Plastics recycling traceability and assessment of conformity and recycled content’. It addresses the issues of the varying standards of plastics recycling across EU countries as well as a lack of transparency and traceability. Consequently, EuCertPlast focuses on the traceability of plastic materials across the entire recycling process and supply chain. Its founding members include the European Association of Plastics Recycling (EPRO), Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), European Plastics Converters (EuPC), and Recovinyl – an initiative of the European PVC industry. EuCertPlast is recognised by a number of compliance schemes and product labels, including Germany’s Blue Angel and Italy’s Corepla.
About APK AG
APK was founded in 2008 with the vision of producing pure polymers from plastic waste, with properties close to virgin plastics. APK’s researchers and engineers have developed a suite of environmentally sound and market-leading recycling technologies under the Newcycling® brand. At its industrial-scale plant in Merseburg (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany), APK currently employs around 130 engineers, researchers, and administrative staff and features a recycling capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes per year. The two well-established plastic recyclate products produced in Merseburg are marketed as Mersalen® and Mersamid®.
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Kristy-Barbara Lange
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Phone: +49 3461 79457-1339
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Lisa Riese
Phone: +49 3461 79457-1302
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Physical solvent-based recycling in Merseburg (Germany) – APK’s Newcycling®-facility.
