Volex and Site Zero lead PRSE awards
The Plastics Recycling Awards Europe, held during the Plastics Recycling Show Europe in Amsterdam, recognized companies and individuals driving innovation in the plastics value chain. This year’s awards marked the tenth anniversary and honored achievements in seven categories.
According to the organizer, Plastics Recyclers Europe, the winning entries demonstrate the increasing use of recycled plastics in demanding applications and the sophistication of recycling technologies.
Winners Announced
The winners included De’ Longhi Appliances and Sirmax for their Eletta Ultra coffee machine, made with recycled content, in the Automotive, electrical or electronic product category. Neular won in the Building & construction product category for its Neular Unlimited T&G Board 32×138 co-extrusion profile.
Robert Bosch Power Tools and LyondellBasell were recognized in the Household & leisure product category for their L-Boxx Contractor. Parmalat won in the Plastic packaging product category for its 50% rPET white opaque bottle for UHT milk.
Aldi Nord, Aldi Süd & Hofer, along with Fernholz and Zott, were awarded in the Product technology innovation category for their Milsani Topi rPS dairy cup. Erema Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen won in the Recycling machinery innovation category for its Volex technology.
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Recycling Machinery Innovation
The Volex technology, recognized in the recycling machinery category, delivers improved degassing while reducing volatile organic compounds and fogging, according to the judges.
Several winning products incorporated higher levels of recycled content into mainstream consumer goods, while others reflected preparations for new European legislation, including the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
Plastics Recycling Ambassadors of the Year
The organizers named two Plastics Recycling Ambassadors of the Year: Mattias Philipsson, CEO of Swedish recycler Svensk Plaståtervinning, and Ansgar Thees Ovelgönne, managing director of German recycler Thees Kunststoffverarbeitung. Philipsson leads the company’s Site Zero facility, one of the world’s largest plastic packaging sorting plants, which processes up to 200,000 tonnes of plastic packaging each year.
Thees Kunststoffverarbeitung has worked in plastics recycling for over two decades and operates three recycling facilities that annually process more than 50,000 tonnes of mainly polyethylene and polypropylene scrap.
All winners received a trophy made from recycled plastics, with the base produced through 3D printing using recycled ABS from automotive dashboards and the top section laser cut from compressed HDPE bottle caps collected during beach clean-up campaigns.
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As the plastics industry continues to evolve, innovations like Volex and Site Zero are likely to play a significant role in shaping the future of plastics recycling in Europe, particularly in the context of emerging regulations and technologies.
Companies are incorporating higher levels of recycled content into their products.
The use of recycled plastics in various applications is becoming increasingly common, with many companies incorporating higher levels of recycled content into their products.
They are driving innovation in the plastics value chain.
