The Italian water company takes a step forward as part of its "bottle to bottle" project, developed following the dynamics of the circular economy, which became a reality in Presenzano’ s factory.
The plant was introduced in 2019, due to a huge investment of more than 27 million euros. It was designed to produce and put back on the market 100% new recyclable bottles, consisting of 50% R-PET (Pet directly recycled by the company). Since spring 2017, the new plant has been operative for the production of R-PET preforms , thanks to a collaboration with Invitalia. This represents a further step confirming a great commitment to the environment, aimed to sustainable production. PET is selected and washed, and new preforms are processed and produced.
As we can see from the picture, through the slogan "Impatto - 1" , the company attempts to impact a world where we are all committed to removing more plastic than we use, via proper recycling. Thanks to this process, Ferrarelle removes 20,000 tonnes of plastic from the environment every year, much more than it uses to produce bottles with recycled plastic.
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is a thermoplastic resin suitable for the containment of food, which is used to produce bottles and other packaging for food purposes. It is also used for its electrical properties, chemical resistance, high temperature performance and quick moulding. Because of this reason, each PET- made bottle can be recycled an endless number of times to become a new bottle identical to the original. The PET reborn with this process has got a clear name: R-PET , a zero impact plastic.
Let' s figure out more deeply what happens inside Presenzano’s plant. Here, R-PET production is organized in 4 phases :
- Firstly, bottles are selected and lids are separated from them;
- Secondly, the company removes the labels and other materials, wash the bottles and cut them up into tiny flakes;
- Then it dries the PET fragments and subject them to infrared;
- Finally, it use the flakes to create the preforms, which are small concentrated plastic tubes ready to become new bottles.
Ferrarelle’s facility represents only a part of the company's CSR commitment, which is already strongly engaged in several fields, including the social branch, the environmental protection and the enhancement of cultural heritage. This strong-willed devotion spans from recycling bottles to the responsive energy’s management needed by the plants. Ferrarelle has always been close to the territory and people, in the belief that in order to do business in a virtuous way it is important to give back value to society starting from the awareness of children. Indeed, the adults of tomorrow have the task of delivering value to their future.
As far as the environment is concerned, sustainability is one of the top priorities for the company, that is constantly striving for a -1 impact world. This philosophy, which Ferrarelle is also promoting through its new TV commercials, aims to encourage people to recycle plastic accurately and to foster this significant message. Only if we start recycling correctly, encouraging other individuals to do the same, we will be able to live in a world where we recycle more than we consume, as the company is trying to do. The main idea that the firm calls for is that everyone has to do more: you have to take more out of the environment than you put in.
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