“At this moment we are the largest processor of polymers (plastic) in South-Eastern Europe. Since 2016, my colleagues have started working on a project regarding the recycling of rigid PVC. That project became a reality two years later and, at this moment, the TeraPlast Recycling company in the group is in the top 5 rigid PVC recyclers in Europe and the largest recycler in Romania. Although we are the largest recycler of rigid PVC in Romania, we face difficulties because we have to import a large amount of rigid PVC waste every year. This means additional costs compared to the case where that rigid PVC waste would come from Romania,” Alexandra Sica, IR & Sustainability Manager, TeraPlast said during Circular Economy Conference organized by Sustainability Today and The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“One of the colleagues from the TeraPlast team developed a recipe – for which we also have a patent – for the integration of recycled material in pipes for external sewage. The advantage of this product is the extended lifespan of up to 50 years.

Many European manufacturers are at the beginning of the process of integrating recycled materials into PVC pipes, while we already have the recipe to increase the percentage from 50% to 100% recycled material in our products.

We need to pay more attention to the process of collecting construction and demolition waste. We need a better control in the application of the legislation so that we can close the circle. If we don’t have a control system, things can’t work.

We will continue to invest both in the development and diversification of our businesses, as well as, for example, in a new photovoltaic power plant. According to our evaluations on the carbon footprint, electricity has the largest share and then this is one of the directions of action.”