Irplast, the Italian company that turns 40 and launches green recycling
The Italian company has developed revolutionary environmentally friendly technology for separating adhesive straps from plastic bottles.
Removable and fully recyclable labels for the reuse of plastic bottles did not yet exist on the market. They are now available thanks to the EcoReLabel project, developed by the empolese Irplast. Thanks to the regional call won by the Terrafino company, it was possible to develop a technology with low environmental impact for the separation of adhesive bands from the container in pet (polyethylene tereftalate), which will allow the ability to recover the materials to recycle and reuse them up to ten times.
The result of a year and a half of research and testing carried out in the recovery chain in Brazil (in Europe the process of washing and reusing plastic bottles is not yet as widespread as in South America) was presented at the production site on its 40th anniversary. Irplast also has two production facilities in Abruzzo. The three-million-euro project involved three companies with Irplast leading the way. The other two are Lmpe, a start-up that deals with the development of polymer materials, and Novis, which specializes in the production of pigments, dyes and blends. Three Tuscan research centres also participated: the Institute for Chemical and Physical Processes of the Cnr, PetLab of the University of Florence and the Institute of Management of S.Anna in Pisa.
The Covid-19 emergency has held back the maxi order departing for the Brazilian market. However, the pandemic has not produced any negative effects on organic and production. “Some fear,” says the ad, “we have it for next autumn as we export 75% to the United States and South America, two areas where the infection rates are still very high”. Irplast has opened the door to a UK investment fund that will “allow new investment.” The company – 380 employees on all three plants and almost 100 million annual turnover – is also constantly looking for professional figures: “We need experts and engineers,” explains Claudia Fabiani in charge of human resources, “Interested parties can apply or check open positions on the company’s website.”
