The end for non-recycled plastic at Infia which, from now on, is exclusively committed to R-PET
After some significant investments and a great effort, the company has started up a new line in order to leave behind container production using virgin plastic for good.
From now on, all its containers will be made using pre-used materials. At least 95% of its supply will come from plastic bottles and the remaining 5% from other PET products. That is to say, for both Italy and Spain, the new container production lines will use 100% R-PET.
This recycled plastic is purified and cleaned using approved processes, certified by the EFSA (European Food Safety Association).
Additionally, the entire process is based on the European Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, which establishes some basic management principles for its handling that do not endanger human health or the environment.
A decade of work
“Being prepared to make this transformation has involved having state-of-the-art technology, ranging from the supercleaning machinery, to the extrusion and thermoforming, which has allowed us to obtain a 100% R-PET container”, Amadeo Isach, manager of Infia Ibérica states.
The company’s route towards R-PET has meant over a decade of work. In 2010, it applied for authorisation from the EFSA for the project. Once it had obtained approval, it purchased the “Starlinger Supercleaning Technologies” to process the R-PET flakes. Three years later, in 2013, the EFSA approved and certified Infia with the “supercleaningprocess.” In 2016, the company completed the implementation of its suppliers and in 2017, it applied the process approved by the EFSA to its entire production in Italy and Spain. Finally, in 2018, coinciding with the publication by the European Commission of the “European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy,” the company launched 100% of its PET products in R-PET.
“The truth is that it is not a new matter, since some markets, such as the British one, have always been very sensitive about this subject, and supermarkets in the country such as Tesco, Sainsbury´s, Asda, Morrisons, M&S, Waitrose, etc. having been demanding that 80% of their products come in recycled R-PET,; but now this demand has reached 100% of their service and we, without any doubt, are in favour of this circular economy that benefits society as a whole,” explains Fabio Zoboli, general manager for Europe.
The company’s achievement, with over 70 years’ experience, ranks it as one of the leading companies which, in line with the times, maintains its concern about environmental sustainability and the circular economy.
