The new Palurec GmbH recycling plant for cardboard packaging in Hürth near Cologne has been in operation for three months. For the first time in Germany, it is now possible to fully recycle cardboard packaging and to reuse not only the paper fibres but also the plastic and aluminium components.
The important certification phase will be reached in August. This increases the recyclability of cardboard packaging from currently around 75 per cent to well over 90 per cent.
In the first expansion stage, a capacity of around 18,000 tonnes is available. This means that over 50 percent of the plastic and aluminium components from beverage cartons produced in Germany can be processed into marketable secondary raw materials for a wide range of industrial applications.
Together with the companies Elopak and SIG Combiblock, the main investor Tetra Pak has invested eight million euros in development costs and four years of joint project work. Plurec GmbH is owned by the German Beverage Packaging Association (FKN).
Source: Tetra Pak
