MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 04/23 www.petpla.net 10 Food-grade rPET project and smart waste bins in Bengal PET recycling in East India On Jan 24, 2023, Magpet Polymers Pvt Ltd, Eastern India’s largest PET processing company in Kolkata announced a bottle-to-bottle project to manufacture food-grade rPET. The announcement was made in the presence of Janab Firhad Hakim, Mayor and MIC for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Dr Shashi Panja, MIC, Ministry of Industries, Commerce and Enterprises, Public Enterprises and Industrial Reconstruction, Government of West Bengal, and Dr Kalyan Rudra, Chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board. For Magpet, Managing Director Mr Devendra Surana, and Mr Indroneel Goho, President & CEO were present at the event. Looking at the future trend of using rPET in food packaging, Magpet will set up the bottle-to-bottle rPET project in Bengal. The project aims to ensure recycling of used PET bottles in Bengal and adjoining states, thereby reducing the consumption of virgin resins and promoting sustainability in the region. The project is also expected to be a step towards integrating the informal recycling sector in Bengal into the regular recycling sector. The project will use European technology and an investment of more than €11 million. The project is divided into three phases. “In the first phase, we will initially install a state-of-the-art European washing plant for the production of food-grade rPET flakes,” Managing Director Devendra Surana told PETplanet. “The capacity will be around 17,000-18,000 t/a and flake production will start by the end of December 2023. The second phase will be followed by an extruder line to produce food-grade pellets from the flakes. Here, commissioning is planned by December 2024 with the same production capacity. So we are also preparing for the emerging demand for food-grade rPET raw material, which will come from the government’s target of 30% recycled content in solid packaging in 2025 and up to 60% content in subsequent years.” The final third phase will see the commissioning of a second integrated rPET pellet line by December 2026. “With the commissioning of the second integrated line, our annual rPET pellet production capacity will double to about 36,000 t/a,” Mr Goho said. The company chose a washing line from the German machine builder Herbold Meckesheim, the manufacturer’s first ever in the Indian market, we were told. For the sorting, the order was placed with Sesotec, also a German manufacturer. For the extruder lines, active discussions are being held with leading European equipment suppliers. A supplier is to be selected shortly and the order placed. On the same day, Magpet also presented the “Smart Bins”, unveiled by the City Mayor, which are to be installed in the city for the disposal of PET bottles. The ‘Smart Bin’, according to the company, is a technologybased and cost-effective solution for plastic waste collection. It is said to have been specifically designed for Indian conditions to provide a wider reach. The size of the bin is said to be designed for collecting large quantities of used plastic bottles. It uses a sensor to report the fill level to a data management centre to ensure a timely and optimised collection route. Around 1,000 of these bins are to be installed at high-traffic locations in Kolkata, such as shopping malls, grocery shops, marketplaces, amusement parks, hospitals, and so on. Discussions on this are in full swing. In addition to collection through this channel, Magpet intends to use regional waste recycling companies for sourcing of post-consumer bottles. The project launch was followed by the Ecologue 2023 symposium, where experts from leading petrochemical manufacturers and global FMCG brands presented their views on the future of PET packaging and its recycling. The main theme of this event is to promote recycling, reduce waste and achieve a clean, waste-free India. www.magnumgroup.in Presentation of the Smart Bin Impression of the Ecologue Symposium
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