Alpla and PTT Global Chemical realise Thailand’s largest plastics recycling plant
Following 18 months of construction and installation, the Alpla Group and PTT Global Chemical are opening the state-of-the-art Envicco recycling plant in Thailand. With an annual production capacity of 30,000 tonnes of recycled PET and 15,000 tonnes of recycled HDPE, it is one of the largest recycling plants for these plastics in Asia. With this plant, the two companies will strengthen the region’s circular economy and supply the growing markets with high-quality recycled material.
Located in an economic zone on the coast of the south-eastern province of Rayong, the plant is equipped with the latest recycling technology and production lines to manufacture high-quality plastic recyclates with approval from the USFDA.
“Built in record time thanks to the excellent collaboration with GC, this highly modern plant is an important part of our recycling activities in Asia,” said Alpla Chairman Günther Lehner during the grand opening on 13 September. The opening was also attended, among others, by Kongkrapan Intarajang (Chief Executive Officer and President, GC), Dietmar Marin (Alpla Managing Director Recycling) and Bernd Wachter (Alpla Corporate Director Circular Economy & Recycling Asia).
“Demand for recycled, sustainable packaging materials is rising sharply in Southeast Asia, and high-quality plastics have a key role to play here. With this new plant, we are now applying our many years of expertise in the treatment and processing of packaging made from post-consumer recycled resins in Thailand,” explains Bernd Wachter. “This joint venture is a truly circular, eco-friendly project creating a comprehensive value chain for plastics in Thailand and is an excellent example of the worldwide use of Austrian green tech know-how,” adds Georg Weingartner, the Austrian Commercial Counsellor in Bangkok.
Alpla contributes more than 25 years of recycling experience to the joint venture. It will supply its production facilities in Asia with recycled material and is also fostering the circular economy at the local level. With the plant, majority shareholder GC supports sustainable development in the region, moving it towards resource-conserving business and lifestyles.
“Today, GC is proud to reveal that Envicco is ready for commercial operation. Used plastics within the Kingdom of Thailand will make up 100% of the raw materials processed by Envicco ’s cutting-edge production technologies to transform used plastics into valuable products,” says Kongkrapan Intarajang. “The Envicco production plant is part of our long-term circular economy strategy to fully realise GC’s value chain. It also has the added benefit of creating jobs within the community while simultaneously aligning with the Thai government’s Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model.” The Envicco team will comprise approximately 180 employees at the start of production.
Future plans: Bottle-to-bottle recycling
The 30,000-square-metre plant is on a plot of land measuring a good 90,000 square metres at the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate. There is, therefore, also space for future capacity expansions. “We have long-term plans to promote the bottle-to-bottle cycle not only here in Thailand, but across Asia and other regions around the world. Carbon emissions and waste can be reduced through optimised resource consumption,” emphasises Dietmar Marin.
Photo: F.l.t.r.: Bernd Wachter (Alpla Corporate Director Circular Economy & Recycling Asia), Dietmar Marin (Alpla Managing Director Recycling), Günther Lehner (Alpla Chairman), Kongkrapan Intarajang (Chief Executive Officer and President, GC), Georg Weingartner (Austrian Commercial Counsellor in Bangkok) and Korn-eak Thamrongwang (Alpla Large Scale Project Manager Asia) at the opening of the Envicco plant.
