In Dessau, saperatec has opened a new plant for the production of secondary plastic and aluminium from composite packaging waste. In future, the plant will recycle large-scale industrial plastic/aluminium composite films from beverage cartons and other packaging waste.
Beverage cartons consist primarily of fibre, plastic and aluminium layers. The fibre content of beverage cartons from household collections in Germany has been recovered for decades and used for the production of cardboard packaging or tissue paper. saperatec Now also separates and cleans plastic and aluminium by type on. A new type of washing process developed by saperatec is used for this. Using state-of-the-art recycling technology, the waste plastic is then purified to such an extent that, among other things, a Polyethylene granulate manufactured for the production of new plastic films is recycled. Packaging manufacturers can produce new film packaging from this secondary raw material and thus close the material cycle.
Dr Sebastian Kernbaum, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of saperatec, explains that „as a start-up company, saperatec has developed the mechanical-physical recycling process for the delamination of multilayer composite materials. systematically developed over ten years from laboratory scale to large-scale realisation has. Water-based, reusable washing liquids are used to optimise the sustainability of recycling. In addition to the separation of plastic from metal and paper layers, the Separation of glass composites Subject of further development work."
The company employs over 60 people in Dessau in production, research & development, engineering and administration. Thorsten Hornung, CEO of the company, explains that „the development and industrialisation of the innovative process would not have been possible without the consistent support of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the European Union and our venture capital investors such as Henkel AG & Co. KGaA and eCAPITAL would not have been possible.
„As a traditionally innovative business location and also the headquarters of the Federal Environment Agency, the establishment of saperatec GmbH with its innovative, resource-saving recycling process is an excellent addition to the diverse industry portfolio and corporate landscape in Dessau-Roßlau. We are very pleased about the extensive investment in the site and the additional jobs created in our twin city, as well as about this successful combination of a new and environmentally friendly production and recycling process here in Dessau-Roßlau.“
Dr Robert Reck, Lord Mayor of Dessau-Roßlau
For Sven Schulze, Minister of Economics, Tourism, Agriculture and Forestry of Saxony-Anhalt, the establishment of technology leaders such as saperatec is an important step towards material waste utilisationSaxony-Anhalt offers attractive conditions for young and innovative industrial companies. With the establishment of saperatec, the circular economy in our state is gaining further momentum. At the same time, attractive and high-quality jobs are being created in the Dessau-Roßlau region.„
„As a leading adhesives manufacturer, we have been consistently driving sustainable development towards a circular economy for many years. Thanks to our strategic cooperation with saperatec, we have access to state-of-the-art recycling technology and a comprehensive range of our adhesives is demonstrably compatible with saperatec's debonding processes.“
Björn Schlömer, Commercial Financial Director Packaging Global at Henkel and member of the Advisory Board of saperatec GmbH
Source: saperatec
