According to AIMPLAS, these wastes, which until now used to end in landfills due to the expensive treatment cost, will be transformed into new products with high added value.

Cooperation

PET is an easily-recyclable material widely used when packing food and drinks. In order to improve the preservation of them and also their aspect, colourants and layers from other materials have been used many times, what makes more difficult their treatment for recycling, the company explains.

To avoid products ending their life cycle in landfills, AIMPLAS says it is co-ordinating a project which includes partner Barpimo, from La Rioja, Spain, that will allow these packages to become products with high added value, such as enamels, resins and materials for the building sector.

Project goals

The project RESIPET is co-funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the FEDER funds within the National Programme for Research aimed at the Challenges of Society.

By means of the research tasks carried out by Barpimo and AIMPLAS it is aimed to develop a new economically profitable process that would allow transforming these wastes in thermosetting resins at an industrial level, at a competitive cost and with a low environmental impact.

It is expected that two types of products will be obtained. Alkyd resins to manufacture enamels and coatings for materials, such as metal and wood, as well as polyester resins that can be used in exigent sectors, such as building or transport sectors as pipes or reinforced composites with glass fibre.

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