MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 10/21 www.petpla.net 14 RECYCLING Christian Strasser, CEO of PET to PET Recycling Österreich GmbH, on toxic trends in the raw materials market and how to ensure consistent material quality over the long term in the circular economy. Seamless and resourcesaving recycling of PET bottles by Gabriele Kosmehl Pandemic-related lockdowns have changed beverage consumption, working conditions and the market for secondary raw materials. The recycling industry has also been greatly affected by economic developments. Nevertheless, thanks to coordinated efforts and strict adherence to its pandemic plan, the Austrian PET to PET Recycling company has not only managed to maintain a high volume of PET bottle recycling but even invested in plant expansion. Christian Strasser, CEO of PET to PET Recycling Österreich GmbH, tells us the secret of his success. PETplanet: At the beginning of August, you drew a positive interim balance for the fi rst half of 2021: 14,048 t PET beverage bottles were kept in the resource cycle. How did you manage this despite the special challenges posed by the Corona pandemic? Strasser: The fact that we were able to maintain production and even achieve record levels of performance is mainly due to three factors. Firstly, having a detailed pandemic plan tailored specifi cally to production operations, including extremely strict hygiene measures and rapid Covid testing, enabled us to ensure the safety of our workforce. Secondly, the Austrian beverage industry continues to play a pioneering role in the use of recyclates in new PET bottles which has helped our sales. And thirdly, we are continually growing our business through on-going system optimisation, as well as expanding our facilities in the interests of the circular economy. PETplanet: Have you noticed any pandemic-related changes in the last year, such as a different consumption of beverages or a change in the way consumers return empty bottles? And if so, have all the changes now settled down again? Strasser: Major changes did indeed occur during the pandemic. If we look at consumer behaviour, it is clear that the partial disappearance of hospitality, tourism and limited leisure opportunities also resulted in a sharp decline in the use of small bottles. On the other hand, the number of large-volume packaged varieties, which are mainly sold via retail outlets, has grown strongly. The change in demand has also caused huge upheaval in the raw materials market. Primary raw material prices have fallen sharply, while at the same time, there has been high demand in the secondary raw material market, with a corresponding lower volume of bottles. This year in particular, prices for bales and the recyclates to be produced from them have risen to unprecedented levels. In some cases, we have a situation where secondary material is being traded at almost twice the price of primary raw material. The term unhealthy is not suffi cient to characterise this state of affairs - for a shift towards a circular economy a more appropriate word would be toxic. I would characterise the behaviour of customers in relation to the separate collection of bottles as consistent even though there is great potential for a further increase in the amount collected. PETplanet: What development do you expect for the second half of 2021? Strasser: The situation has improved as a result of the lifting of many restrictions. However, we will probably not be able to speak of normality for some time yet. The best outcome would be expecting sales fi gures to be similar to those of 2020. Christian Strasser is CEO of the PET to PET recycling plant, which went into operation in 2007. (Photo: Andi Bruckner) Dipl.-Ing. Christian Strasser (photo: Eva Kelety)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY0MjI=