Material / Recycling PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 12/21 www.petpla.net 12 Tour Sponsors: Growth potential included Bottle-to-bottle recycling at its best Back on the road on our Editour through Europe we stopped at the waste management company and plastics recycler RCS Plastic in rural Werne, Germany. Here we met the managing director Mr Alexander Rimmer with whom we talked about his state-of-the-art recycling plant. He gave us his opinion on the current situation of PET recycling and told about his expansion plans with another Erema Vacunite granulation system. Perfectly connected to motorways and major European ports as well as railways, he is investing in a sustainable future. PETplanet: Mr Rimmer, at what point and why do you recycle plastic at RCS? Rimmer: The company was founded in 1985 by the brothers Gerhard and Franz-Josef Francke in Werne. They started with the collection and marketing of paper and cardboard and have developed signifi - cantly since then. We now employ 170 people at two locations in Werne. In 2011, we started recycling PET bottles into unmixed PET flakes and in 2020 we started producing granulate at our new location. PETplanet: What types of plastic do you recycle and where do you source your material? Rimmer: So far, we have recycled disposable PET bottles. The material comes from the German deposit system of retailers. Various machines are used for recycling: The sorting is done by the sorting system of Stadler, the washing part is an own construction of our company and the granulation is done by a Vacunite system of Erema. PETplanet: What process steps does the material go through? Rimmer: The material is delivered to us from the deposit system and sorted in the first step by the Stadler sorting plant, where contaminants are sorted out and the PET bottles are divided according to colour. In the next step, the PET bottles pass through the RCS washing facility for cleaning, where CHT detergents are used. For granulation, the PET flakes are sorted by a flake sorter from Unisensor to ensure quality and then go to the Erema Vacunite granulation system and the SSP system from Polymetrix. (See issue 10/2021 PETplanet) PETplanet: What capacities are currently available to you and are you planning any expansions? Rimmer: We currently have a granulate capacity of 16,000 t/a. Next February, we will receive a second granulation plant of Erema and will thus be able to increase the capacity to 50,000 t/a. PETplanet: For which industry do you produce rPET? Who are your customers? Rimmer: We mainly produce rPET for the food and beverage industry. Our customers are well-known brands in the food and beverage industry. PETplanet: What do you think is the biggest challenge of PET recycling? Rimmer: The biggest challenge in PET recycling is societal developments. Here in Germany, we can recycle PET very well because there is a welldeveloped deposit system. Through the deposit system, the PET bottles do not come into contact with any other substances, the quality of the material is thus ensured. This also ensures that the bottles are recirculated and thus recycled again and again. As a possibility for improvement, I suggest the spread of the deposit system in other countries, so that the collection and recycling of PET bottles can also be promoted throughout Europe. It is worth mentioning that the recycling rate for PET in Germany is over 97%, which is not possible in countries without a deposit system. Another suggestion is, and this is very important to me, a better cooperation and communication between the producers of food packaging and PET bottles with the recyclers, so that new packaging is produced according to the principles of “design for recycling.” PETplanet: What is your opinion on the EU directives? Rimmer: We are neutral towards the EU plastic directives. Through the legal requirements for beverage bottle manufacturers, we and other plastic recyclers receive support and more acceptance from the very top. In addition, the distinction between single-use plastics such as cotton buds, plastic cutlery or drinking straws, which will be completely banned, and singleuse plastics such as beverage bottles will raise awareness in society, as not F.l.t.r. Mr Alexander Rimmer, CEO at RCS and Ms Jessica Böckmann, Administration at RCS
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