PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2011

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 23 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 03/11 www.petpla.net ment’s sense of responsibility for the country’s environment, and underpinned by another forward-looking perception from Sheikh Bashir Uddin, the Managing Director of the Akij Group. The Senior General Manager of the Akij Food & Beverage production facility, P. B. Barua, singles out three main reasons for the decision: “Firstly, the bottom line has to be right. And it is. At present, we’re already saving up to 30% of the price per container by using recycled flakes. Secondly, we don’t need so much foreign currency for importing PET granules – that is a crucial factor for a country like Bangladesh. And thirdly, we are able to help to significantly reduce the amount of garbage, specifically discarded PET containers, on the kerbside and in lakes and rivers.” This is why AFBL installed the first PET recycling line of its kind in Asia. In a new aisle of the hall in the Dhaka plant, Krones built a washing module with an output of 1,000kg/h, plus a decontamination module for 500kg/h. The washing module produces non-food-grade rPET flakes for use in the fibre, plastics or film industries. Full capacity utilisation is always dependent on the market price but Sheikh Uddin is already talking about converting the remaining 500kg/h of non-food-grade rPET flakes into polyester flakes, for use in the group’s own textile factory in a cotton-polyester mixture. One of the country’s many small plastic collection points. The material arrives in the beverage factory’s courtyard in big bags or already compressed and is in very poor condition. In a new aisle of the hall in the Dhaka plant, Krones built a washing module (left) with an output of 1,000kg/h, plus a decon- tamination module (right) for 500kg/h.