CONSORTIUM CONTINUES TO GROW: Specialist for plastics recycling machines EREMA becomes R-Cycle partner

The EREMA Group – a world leader in the development and manufacture of plastics recycling machines and system components – joins the R-Cycle consortium. Founded in 1983 as a pioneer in the industry, the corporate network now comprises 7 companies and has placed more than 6,500 systems on the market around the globe, producing a total of over 14.5 million tonnes of plastic granulate per year.

As part of a functioning circular economy, EREMA’s technology links the life cycles of plastics: recycled plastic waste is used to produce new (re)granulate (or recyclate) for the manufacture of new high-quality plastic products. In order to produce high-quality recyclate, however, precise waste sorting is also required. This is exactly the declared goal of R-Cycle. By documenting recycling-relevant data of plastic packaging and subsequent identification in the recycling process via so-called digital watermarks, fully recyclable mono-material packaging, for example, can be reliably distinguished from poorly recyclable composite materials. R-Cycle thus improves the availability of sorted waste fractions for the recycling stream in order to significantly increase the production quantities of high-quality recyclates.

“Our goal is to make recycling an integral part of the plastics value chain, in line with our vision “Another Life for Plastic”. This can only succeed if streams of recyclable materials are actually fed into the recycling process, and R-Cycle can make a very significant contribution to this,” says Manfred Hackl, CEO of EREMA Group GmbH, explaining why the company has joined the consortium.

Dr. Benedikt Brenken, Director of the R-Cycle Initiative, adds: “With the EREMA Group we are gaining the world market leader in the field of plastics recycling machines for our initiative – and thus in-depth expertise in the processing of plastic waste. Together we will further specify the standard for data exchange along the entire value chain and implement it in specific applications”.

Manfred Hackl, CEO of EREMA Group GmbH.
Picture Credits: EREMA Group GmbH