Further to Spain-based petrochemical firm Repsol’s announced goal of becoming a zero net emissions company in 2050, the company has now partnered with Armando Alvarez Group (GAA), a Spanish plastic packaging producer, to create new packaging solutions for flexible packaging not intended for food contact use based on the use of recycled materials.
The companies are working on a new range of containers that incorporate recycled polyolefins, recovered by both mechanical and chemical recycling. The development is in line with Repsol’s goal of recycling the equivalent of 20% of the company's polyolefins production.
In addition to producing a homologated material for easy-tear film applications based on Repsol’s Reciclex recycled material, the partners have set up a reverse logistics system to recycle the industrial bags in which Repsol supplies its resins. Repsol recovers the bags that, after being recycled, are incorporated into the bag reels manufactured by that GAA for Repsol. This bag-to-bag solution, in which the new bags contain 30% post-consumer recycled material both lengthens the life of the materials and offers an efficient route to manage this packaging waste.
The companies have also announced a further agreement: the ISCC PLUS certified circular polyolefins from the Repsol Reciclex range will be supplied by both companies to their customers. These resins are derived from the chemical recycling of post- consumer plastic waste not suitable for mechanical recycling, a process yielding virgin-like materials suitable for food packaging applications.
The new alliance, said Repsol, builds on the circular economy strategy it has had in place since 2016. The strategy has been consistently applied throughout the company's entire value chain. Repsol currently has over 200 projects in progress, which are being developed in collaboration with more than 180 strategic partners, organisations, and institutions.