The association formed by the Alpla Group (Austria), Ecohelp SRL (Romania) and United Polymer Trading (Switzerland) inaugurated in Targu Mures one of the most modern factories for processing recycled PET flakes in the European Union.

The first extrusion line to produce high-quality rPET granules from PET flakes of PET Recycling Team Târgu Mureş has already been put into operation, and the food-grade rPET granules obtained through this process serve as raw material for new preforms and bottles. PET Recycling Team, built following an investment of 7.5 million euros, will deliver 18,000 tons of recycled plastic per year to bottlers of soft drinks, dairy products, mineral water, beer, and oil in Romania and in the region.

“For over a decade, my team and I have been developing a continuous research project in the field of PET recycling. Thus, in 2020 we completed the project of the first technological line that currently produces PET flakes whose quality has been assessed as being among the best in the European Union. It was a project started from scratch”, said Mihai Moloiu, General Director of PET Recycling Team and one of the three associates of the new factory.

The PRT Targu Mures joint venture was established in the fall of 2021 and combines the skill sets of the three companies involved: ALPLA – has experience as a global specialist in recycling and packaging manufacturer, United Polymer Trading (UPT) – has an extensive distribution network of plastic materials and recycled materials, and the local company Ecohelp SRL provides PET flakes recycled from PETs collected from household waste, following an innovation of its own. “Both Romania and the macro-region needed such a producer, as it is natural to process at home what you collect and recycle at home. It’s not by chance that our location is right in the center of Romania – at equal distances from all our existing and potential customers”, said Mihai Moloiu.