Environment & environmental impacts

Plastics in the environment

Littering, in other words the thoughtless pollution of the oceans and of nature, is a major challenge of our time. According to studies, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the oceans each year.
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Precautionary Principle or approach
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External initiatives
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Precautionary Principle or approach
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External initiatives
ALPLA supports environmental organisations that combat ocean pollution.

A large proportion of this comes from countries that do not have functioning collection systems. The current situation firstly represents a major hazard for ecosystems. And secondly, the industry loses important recyclable materials due to such thoughtlessness. ALPLA has no direct influence on waste management or on how consumers dispose of packaging after use. But a sustainable circular economy undeniably prevents littering, preserves valuable materials, conserves natural resources and offers advantages both to the consumers and the environment. This is something which we advocate.

ALPLA believes in recycling

In October 2018, ALPLA signed the New Plastics Economy’s Global Commitment. This is an initiative led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation together with the United Nations Environment Programme. In signing the Global Commitment, ALPLA has pledged to achieve ambitious targets

Ziele 2025

Im Oktober 2018 hat ALPLA das Global Commitment der New Plastics Economy unterzeichnet. Dieser Initiative der Ellen MacArthur Foundation folgend hat sich ALPLA zu konkreten Zielen bis 2025 verpflichtet.

Ziele 2025

Im Oktober 2018 hat ALPLA das Global Commitment der New Plastics Economy unterzeichnet. Dieser Initiative der Ellen MacArthur Foundation folgend hat sich ALPLA zu konkreten Zielen bis 2025 verpflichtet.

ALPLA has always been aware of its responsibility for the environment and for future generations. We want to play an active role in paving the way towards an efficient circular economy in the packaging industry.

Günther Lehner, CEO

Working closely with the customers

We aim to offer the best packaging solution for every area of use. We naturally also support our customers in implementing their sustainability goals. For example, we work with Plastic Bank together with our customer Henkel. This social enterprise has set itself the objective of combating the problem of plastic waste in the oceans while also creating opportunities for people living in poverty. Local populations can hand in plastic waste in exchange for money or social benefits. We process the materials collected into (non-food-grade) rPET at our PET Recycling Team Wöllersdorf recycling plant and use this exclusively for the production of new packaging for Henkel.

Alongside other projects dedicated to the reuse of so-called beach plastic, ALPLA supports environmental organisations that combat ocean pollution.

We will set a budget in order to financially support initiatives that combat marine litter.

GOAL: Plastics in the environment

World Environment Day: ALPLA is committed to environmental protection

In 1972, the United Nations declared ‘World Environment Day’ on the opening day of the first Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. Since then, some 150 nations have marked this initiative annually with events and activities on 5 June.

 

Case Studies

Description

In 2018, ALPLA got involved in a school project in Poland which taught children about recycling and its importance. ‘Waste management and the recycling of valuable materials are not very well developed in Poland compared with other European countries,’ explains Piotr Popiel, Operations Manager at the ALPLA plant in Żywiec. ‘It’s therefore important that we educate people. And the best place to start is with the kids.’ More than 100 schoolchildren aged between eight and twelve visited the Żywiec plant with their teachers. There, they learned about how recycling works and were able to touch plastic pellets, preforms and packaging solutions to learn about the materials cycle in a fun way. The highlight for them was then a tour of the plant. Afterwards, the schoolchildren were all in agreement: ‘Recycling is important and all of us can start doing it at home.’

Description

In 2013, ALPLA signed up to the Zero Pellet Loss initiative to minimise the loss of small pieces of plastic at our plants. Pellets are small beads of raw plastic that can easily disappear down cracks or behind machinery or get stuck in the soles of workers’ shoes. They then find their way into the environment or into bodies of water. We have developed and introduced all kinds of measures to prevent this, such as custom-built vacuum cleaners, collection systems in silos and tailored wastewater sifters.

More Information: blog.alpla.com