Over recent years, the trends of environmental preservation, sustainability, and circular economy have been gaining momentum, and we, at Plazit-Polygal Group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of various engineered polymer sheets, primarily PMMA and polycarbonate, recognized these trends a while ago and joined in. We are committed to our vision – making a genuine contribution to improving Earth’s ecological situation. Recycling is no longer an X-rated word but a requirement, and the entire plastic industry is rallying to adhere to local and global standards and directives. That’s why we have launched a new product line, made entirely of recycled materials.
Zero waste
“We use 100% of the materials that enter the factory and do not sell off any waste”, explains Amir Abramovitz, the Group’s CEO. “If a plant in the group accumulates surplus recycled material, we will bring it to Israel and utilize it in our products, at any cost. It is our environmental obligation, and we are committed to it. Most of our products are transparent, whereas recycled materials tend to be translucent. Therefore, we have developed a line of products using recycled materials for which optical features are less important. It was a challenge, and we have accomplished it with flying colors”.
Circular Economy as a way of life
Not only production wastes are being recycled. The group has taken another significant step forward in the vision of the circular economy and found ground-breaking solutions in the world of recycling. “We decided to find a way for recycling the massive amount of polymer dust that accumulates during the cutting and sewing processes of our sheets”, says Alexander Belkin, CEO of the Plazit-Polygal company in Bulgaria. “We identified this need also among our customers, who up until now, just like us, sent the materials to landfills, at high cost and mainly – damaging the environment. Today, after two years of developing a new recycling technology, we are at the proof of technological feasibility stage – initial production of recycled raw material based on 100% utilization of internal waste that otherwise would have been out of the use cycle”.
An additional recycling development process that will be implemented by the group, will utilize all existing capabilities of Plazit-Polygal Bulgaria, which enable turning PMMA into recycled MMA, the monomer used to produce the PMMA polymer known as “Acrylic”. It will then be possible to polymerize the monomer back into PMMA. This will be used as raw materials for the manufacture of high-quality transparent acrylic sheets. The Development of this technology will afford Plazit-Polygal and its customers with a strategic advantage, coming round full circle in the re-use of all wastes by utilizing the full range of the group’s technologies.
Launching a new line of products for recycled materials
Soon, the group is expected to revolutionize recycling, including the launch of a logistics array for the collection of sheeting at its end-of-life cycle. Plazit-Polygal produces full and hollow sheets made of five different polymers: PMMA, Polycarbonate, PETg, Polystyrene, and SAN. Therefore, the group is gearing towards separating between the different types of sheets “at the source”. The sheets will arrive at our new recycling plant, which will also be established at Plazit-Polygal Bulgaria. The used sheets will be cleaned, shred and re-granulated into recycled raw material that will be sent to the Company’s factories in Israel and worldwide to be used in products comprised of recycled raw materials.
Saving on resources
In addition to innovative recycling processes, Plazit-Polygal spares no efforts to save on energy and water. “We have invested hundreds of thousands of NIS in closed systems that treat wastewater instead of spilling it to the sewers. Moreover, we have installed an economical water-cooling system, energy-efficient production lines. In addition, we will enter an agreement to purchase environmentally produced electricity from photovoltaic cells”, says Amir the CEO.
Turning trash into treasure
“We provide significant value to recycled products, which beforehand were considered trash”, emphasizes Tamir Levy, Director of European Marketing. “The global processes we are performing require considerable production efforts, development, and logistics. In the end, the effort is worthwhile, and we produce a quality product, similar in mechanical features to products made from virgin raw materials. The recycling costs are not negligible, but they are a necessary part of promoting the values of recycling and circular economy, which we believe in and operate by”.
You are invited to contact us for samples of the recycled material and help us to continue to promote the values of circular economy and environmental preservation.
