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Rigid plastics recycling, one of the most innovative plants in Europe in Modena
04 April 2024
Work is under way in Modena to build one of the most innovative plants on the European scene for the recycling of rigid plastics. Hera, through its subsidiary Aliplast, will create a state-of-the-art plant in which it will be possible to obtain high-quality recycled polymers with characteristics comparable to those of virgin materials, obtained from fossil sources. Up to 30 thousand tons of high-quality recycled polymers will be produced each year from rigid plastic waste, such as those used in computers, electronics items, everyday bottles and automotive components, which are among the most difficult to recover effectively. The amount of plastic recycled in one year by the plant when fully operational will save emissions of about 30 thousand tons of CO2 equivalent.
The total investment supported by the Group amounts to about 50 million euros, 7.7 of which is financed through PNRR funds. The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The project will be built within the Modena plant hub (in Via Cavazza), where the waste-to-energy plant and the wastewater treatment plant already coexist. The plant will fit into a context that will make it possible to take advantage of industrial synergies oriented toward sustainability: the plant will be powered by electricity produced by the nearby waste-to-energy plant, while the production process will use the water coming out of the sewage treatment plant and then feed it back into it, thus closing a virtuous circle.
The rigid plastics recycling plant will ensure high standards of safety and innovation, with automation and high digitization of processes. The plastics processed will also be zero kilometer: the material processed in the plant will be selected mainly from the waste that the Group already processes in its own sorting and recovery lines, also involving the local production fabric. These polymers will have such purity that they can also be reused in the same compartments of origin with performance similar to that guaranteed by virgin materials.The method used by Aliplast consists of upcycling, a regeneration that elevates the quality of the starting polymer, thus achieving high quality characteristics. The new plant is among the projects included in Hera's Business Plan to foster and support the ecological transition of the territories served. Specifically, the Group over the period 2023-2027 has allocated €1.7 billion in investments, or 39 percent of the total, to fuel projects dedicated to the circular economy and resource regeneration.
"We are proud to present this project that, in addition to strengthening our plant fleet, will give a further boost to the important contribution that Hera Group has been providing to the Italian recycling industry for years. In the current context, there is an increased demand from companies for increasingly sustainable solutions for waste treatment and recovery that guarantee the closure of the cycle with a view to the circular economy. - explains Orazio Iacono, Chief Executive Officer of the Group - A new generation of plant capacity is therefore needed nationwide, to which we are responding with concrete and innovative projects. In particular, this plant will be a driver for the achievement of resource circularity goals especially in sectors such as the consumer electronics and automotive industries, also with the aim of promoting increasingly circular and short Italian supply chains. It is a project that is part of the initiatives included in the Industrial Plan to respond to the 2030 goals in terms of circular economy and decarbonization and is an integral part of our path aimed at accompanying the communities served toward the green transition, consistent with our corporate purpose."
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