A new Europe-wide pilot scheme is aiming to cut 57,000 tonnes of plastic waste from landfills per year.
The project “Life Recypack” is being coordinated by the Spanish plastics technology centre Aimplas and participated in by other companies, including AVEP, COMELSA, and a number of regional governments in Spain, Italy and Hungary.
During the project, four commercial settings -malls, stores, large retail chains and SMEs - will be evaluated regarding their management of waste polyethylene and expanded polystyrene.
In particular, four pilot schemes will be implemented to separate the plastic waste from commercial packages made of polyethylene and expanded polystyrene, in Spain and Italy.
Additionally, two “recycling experiences” will be conducted in Spain and Hungary.
Once completed, the project will be repeated in 250 European cities.
According to Aimplas, the project has the potential to generate €10.6m annually, by yielding materials for “high-quality recycled plastics”.
Aimplas did not give further details on what the “experiences” would involve.