Plastipak opens recycling plant in Spain

U.S. container maker and recycler Plastipak Packaging Inc. has completed the recycling facility at its blow molding plant in Toledo, Spain.

Announced in May 2021, the facility now is converting recycled PET flake into food-grade pellets that can be used in preforms, containers and bottles. The operation can produce 44.1 million pounds (20,000 metric tons) of pellets annually right at Plastipak's blow molding plant, eliminating transport-related emissions.

The company said the added capacity is linked in part to Spain's tax on nonrecyclable plastic packaging, which takes effect in January, and European Union recycled-content requirements.

"As well as supporting our customers to reduce their financial obligations under the planned Spanish plastics tax, the plant will also contribute to meeting the minimum recycled-content levels mandated by the Single Use Plastics Directive," Pedro Martins, Plastipak's executive managing director for Europe, said in a recent news release.

Plastipak installed more than 1,800 solar panels on the roof of the new facility and said it already derives 100 percent of the electricity it uses in Europe from renewable sources.

The company did not reveal its investment in the Toledo expansion. When it announced plans for the plant, Plastipak said the facility would create 14 jobs.

The Toledo recycling plant is Plastipak's fifth; the others are in Dundee, Mich.; Hemswell, England; Beaune, France; and Bascharage, Luxembourg. In January, Plastipak announced it had more than doubled recycling capacity at the Bascharage facility. The company claims to be Europe's largest producer of food-grade recycled PET, with annual capacity exceeding 330.7 million pounds (150,000 metric tons).

Plastics News ranks Plastipak as the third-largest blow molder in North America, with related sales of $2.2 billion. The company reported 2021 global sales of $2.9 billion.

Plastipak Packaging is a wholly owned subsidiary of Plastipak Holdings Inc. of Plymouth, Mich. The parent company employs more than 6,500 at 40 plants worldwide.