Food-grade qualities
In Argentina, Reciclar is the only company capable of producing food-grade recycled pellets, an achievement empowered by Tomra’s sophisticated sorting units that allow for the recovery of high-quality recyclables.
"We aim to continuously expand both our activities and product quality. The relationship with Tomra has helped us to fulfill our customer’s requirements as well as those of the national and international markets. We increased our processing capacity with the latest technological solutions. We have established that the combination of all these factors is key when we aim to overcome the current ecological challenges," says Nicolas Pell Richards, Reciclar S.A. Director.
To date, the Argentinean packaging industry uses very little recycled material to manufacture new packaging. The food and beverage segment only uses recyclable post-consumer material (PCR) in some PET packaging, which represents 10% of total resin consumption, according to figures from the Circulo de Politicas Ambientales report.
These figures give room for improvement but, fortunately, waste management infrastructures and smart solutions exist to maximize material circularity and divert recyclables from landfill or incineration. Sorting technologies are crucial in this process and should go hand in hand with collection and recycling processes. According to the Círculo de Políticas Ambientales, the management of post-consumer packaging waste is crucial as it represents approximately 30% of urban solid waste in Argentina and is a great source for recovering recyclable materials.
Combined forces to address a major challenge in Latin America
According to World Bank statistics, Latin America produces more than 430,000 tons of waste per day. In other words, each Latin American produces an average of between one and 14 kilos of waste per day. On the other hand, according to GAIA Alliance, the USA Trade Online database of free international trade in the United States reported that between January and August 2020, 44,173 tons of plastic waste arrived from the United States to 15 Latin American countries, which meant the shipment of approximately 35 containers per day to the region.
Reciclar S.A. is the leading PET recycling company in Argentina. In collaboration with Tomra the company consolidated its activities in the recycling of plastic containers and packaging for the production of PET, PP, and HDPE flakes, pellets and strips. As a result of these achievements, Reciclar has become the only company in the country with ISO 9001:2015 certification for the production and commercialization processes of recycled PET flakes and pellets since 2009.
Tomra and Reciclar are both committed to supporting the creation of a more sustainable environment and a circular economy for PET in Argentina
