ALPLA opens state-of-the-art recycling plant in South Africa

From 2025, ALPLA will produce up to 35,000 tonnes of mechanically recycled rPET flakes and food-safe rPET pellets annually in South Africa. The international packaging and recycling specialist has just opened the state-of-the-art plant, which is located on a 90,000-square-metre site in the coastal town of Ballito, after a construction period of around 18 months. With an investment of 60 million euros, ALPLA is setting the course for further growth in South Africa and providing an economic boost to the densely populated province of KwaZulu-Natal and the iLembe district.

At the opening ceremony on 31 October, ALPLA Chairman Günther Lehner, together with Dietmar Marin, Managing Director of ALPLArecycling, and Plant Manager Gerhard Meyringer, welcomed around 180 guests from the worlds of business and politics including representatives from the South African Ministries of Trade, Industry and Competition and Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, 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, our aim is to provide safe, affordable and sustainable packaging solutions to our customers and to continue improving standards of living. With our investments in Ballito and before that in Lanseria, we have laid the foundation for a successful future,’ says ALPLA CEO Philipp Lehner. ‘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,’ says Sihle Ngcamu, CEO of Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal.

Setting the course for the future
The Ballito recycling plant will have an initial output capacity of 35,000 tonnes of rPET flakes, of which 16,000 tonnes 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 the customer, ALPLA will start production in early 2025. ‘Our plant will increase the supply of rPET in the national market. The country’s beverage industry will benefit in two ways: it will receive high-quality material and it will be able to meet the legal requirements,’ explains Dietmar Marin, Managing Director of ALPLArecycling.

Under South Africa’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation, which came into force in 2021, PET drinks bottles have had to contain 10 per cent recycled material since 2022. The legislation requires this to double to 20 percent 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 recycling plant is already designed to increase the proportion of pellets and can accommodate a second extrusion line for this purpose. An additional 30,000 square metres 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.