Alpla opens state-of-the-art PET recycling plant in Ballito
APPROXIMATELY a year and a half after construction began, packaging and recycling specialist Alpla is opening a state-of-the-art plant located on 90,000m2 in the coastal town of Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal. The company has invested €60 million (about R1,15 billion) in the new plant.
From 2025, Alpla will produce up to 35,000 tons of mechanically recycled rPET flakes and food-safe rPET pellets annually in South Africa. Through this investment, Alpla is setting the course for further growth in South Africa and providing an economic boost to the densely populated province of KZN and the iLembe district.
At the opening ceremony on 31 October, Alpla chairman Günther Lehner, Dietmar Marin, managing director of ALPLArecycling, and plant manager Gerhard Meyringer, welcomed around 180 guests from the worlds of business and politics. These included representatives from the South African Ministries of Trade, Industry and Competition; Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment; and representatives from the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality; and the iLembe District Municipality, as well as Austria’s Ambassador Romana Königsbrun.
“South Africa is a strategically important market for us and one in which we want to continue to grow. Together with our customers and partners, we aim to provide safe, affordable, and sustainable packaging solutions to our customers and continue improving standards of living. With our investments in Ballito and before that in Lanseria, we have laid the foundation for a successful future,” notes Alpla CEO Philipp Lehner. Sihle Ngcamu, CEO of Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal, adds: “Alpla’s involvement does not only accelerate the industrialisation of iLembe District Municipality but ensures investing in projects that support UN Sustainable Development Goals, attracting other companies along the value chain and creating several thousand jobs in the collection infrastructure.”
Setting the course for the future
As mentioned, the Ballito recycling plant will have an initial output capacity of 35,000 tons of rPET flakes, of which 16,000 tons will be processed into rPET pellets. A state-of-the-art extrusion line has been installed for this purpose. Once all processes have been qualified and the flakes and pellets have been approved by customers, Alpla will begin production in early 2025. “Our plant will increase the supply of rPET in the national market. The country’s beverage industry will benefit by receiving high-quality material and by meeting legal requirements,” explains Dietmar Marin, managing director of ALPLArecycling.
Under South Africa’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation, which came into effect in 2021, PET drinks bottles have had to contain 10% recycled material since 2022. The legislation requires this to double to 20% by 2026.
“With our expertise and experience in recycling and processing, we are a reliable partner for sustainable solutions. At the same time, we are promoting the circular economy in South Africa and reducing waste through close cooperation with regional collection programmes,” says plant manager Gerhard Meyringer.
The plant is already designed to increase the proportion of pellets and can accommodate a second extrusion line for this purpose. An additional 30,000m² of space is available at the site for further expansion. Alpla will process the high-quality recycled material into PET preforms for the production of drinks bottles at the Lanseria plant, which opened in 2022.
About the Alpla Group
Alpla is one of the world’s leading companies in the manufacture and recycling of plastic packaging. Around 23,300 employees worldwide produce custom-made packaging systems, bottles, caps and moulded parts at 196 sites across 47 countries. High-quality packaging is used for various sectors, including food and drinks, cosmetics and personal care products, household cleaning products, detergents and cleaning agents, pharmaceutical products, engine oils, and lubricants.
Alpla operates recycling plants for PET and HDPE in Austria, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Romania, Thailand, and South Africa. Other projects are being realised elsewhere around the world.
