ILPA GROUP among the champions of circular economy

Legambiente has awarded ILPA Group an acknowledgement for its vertical integration of the r-PET cycle, which in 2016 led to the production of 18,000 tonnes of recycled material

BOLOGNA, 20 March 2017 – The efforts of the ILPA Group to promote environmental sustainability has also been acknowledged by Legambiente. The company, based in Valsamoggia, is a leading producer of thermoformed plastic packaging for fresh produce and food service, and was selected by the Italian environmental association as one of the 4 “Champions of Circular Economy” in the Emilia-Romagna region.

The award was bestowed today on platform 6, western service area of the Bologna train station, where Legambiente, in a joint project with Ferrovie dello Stato, made a stop with its Green Train to promote sustainable lifestyles and raise awareness on the importance of protecting the environment. The initiative takes place in a moment in which the European measures on circular economy has been approved, including among its goals for 2030 the potentiation of recycling and re-using materials, with a specific “strategy for plastic materials”.

The ILPA Group has always been in the pole position in this context too, having embraced these principles in 2012, when the company acquired AMP, from Ferrara, a company that was then struggling to make ends meet. The Ferrara plant became the focus point of PET recycling within the group: this is where the post-consumption materials are sorted and washed, with a plastic recovery system for differentiated waste. Other companies of the group then grind, extrude and thermoform the recycled PET to manufacture packaging suitable for contact with food, according to European legislation.

In 2016, the ILPA Group produced 18,000 tonnes of recycled material, which means 18,000 less tonnes of virgin PET. From 2012 and 2016, the company boasted a remarkable increase in its use of recycled raw materials.

“As manufacturers of plastic products, we feel strongly responsible for the territory in which we operate and for the environment. This acknowledgement is confirmation that we are on the right path”, commented Riccardo Pianesani, ILPA Spa Managing Director. “Our work on sustainability is based on reducing the weight of packages, researching increasingly safe and effective packaging to reduce food waste, and, first and foremost, recycling raw materials, thanks to which we turn waste into a new product, suitable for contact with food.”

With this acknowledgement, Legambiente has highlighted the high sustainability of ILPA’s efforts to complete the PET cycle, in the context of circular economy.

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Luca Speroni
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