Innovating to improve recycling across Colombia through collaboration and partnership
Sustainability
November 17, 2021Reading time: 1 minutes
Creating a circular economy – where materials are reused and recycled, rather than put in landfill or incinerated – requires collaboration across the supply chain.
Creating a circular economy – where materials are reused and recycled, rather than put in landfill or incinerated – requires collaboration across the supply chain.
In Colombia, there are not sufficiently robust processes in place to consistently recycle amber-colored PET at scale. A new program is changing this, and Amcor is proud to be involved. By working with Bavaria, Fractal, Enkador and Andercol – partners within the value chain – we have been able to put in place systems and infrastructure to give amber PET a new life once it’s been used.
It all starts with Amcor’s role: we design the product to be recycled and use as little material as possible while ensuring the packaging is safe and the product is protected.
Next, beverage company Bavaria engages consumers to recycle the amber PET once the bottle is empty. The packaging is then collected by Fractal, a waste hauler, and taken to Enkador, which conducts the mechanical-recycling process. During the mechanical-recycling process, PET bottles are converted into “rPET” (recycled PET) resin, which can then be used by Amcor to create more high-quality recycled bottles.
Through a partnership with Andercol, the remaining packaging undergoes chemical recycling. Here, the polymer chains within the packaging are broken down and reduced to the primary components that make up the building blocks of plastics. These components can in turn be used to create new plastic material that can be used for food-grade packaging.
This is just one of many projects that we’re working on to help improve recycling rates across the world through innovation, improvements to infrastructure and educating communities – and these projects directly address a growing demand from consumers who want to recycle more. On Nov. 18, we released our 2021 Sustainability Report and research featuring insights and data that reflect a growing demand from consumers for more packaging to be recyclable.
Furthermore, our partnership with Delterra to develop recycling infrastructure solutions across communities in Latin America aligns perfectly with our goals to improve and educate. This ‘Rethinking Recycling’ initiative identifies and helps specific communities with poor recycling infrastructure by providing updated waste management solutions.
To learn more about our collaborations to increase recycling rates, visit our sustainability partnerships page.
