Acea for World Energy Saving Day
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In line with its commitment to circular economy and sustainable development, Acea’s activities include selecting and recycling plastic packaging at the Beinasco plant, one of the main plastic recycling selection centers in Italy. A Secondary Selection Center (CSS) where plastic and plastic and metal packaging – mainly collected in the regions of Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont – is selected before starting the recycling process.
At the plant, plastic undergoes an industrial selection process that is almost completely automated.
After the initial stage of domestic recycling performed at home by consumers, selection is the essential stage before the proper recycling process can start. This preliminary stage includes two carefully performed steps: removing any foreign objects that may compromise the industrial treatment process and sorting the various types of plastic based on the different polymer matrix composites (liquid food containers are sorted by color).
Plastic is not all the same: it is made using a combination of different polymers and comes in different colors. Selection plants like the one in Beinasco sort it in compatible and homogeneous groups, to increase the ways in which the recycled material can be used and diffused.
The different types of plastic enter the plant on conveyor belts. Operators start by manually selecting the largest objects and removing any unwanted waste.
The central stages of the recycling process are carried out completely automatically by state-of-the-art machines. Such as the so-called “optical sorters”, which perform the most important step of the selection: sorting plastic by polymer type and color using infrared spectroscopy to identify the items on the conveyor belt based on the reflection of the radiation.
At the end of the industrial selection, recyclable plastic is prepared to leave the plant: it is manually checked by operators and bales are stacked ready to be sent to plants in order to be washed and recycled.
The acquisition of Demap, the company that owns the plant in Beinasco, was just the first step Acea Group took towards plastic valorization, a sector in which it intends to make its mark. The plant has the potential to process up to 75,000 tons of materials per year.
Acea also acquired Ferrocart, Cavallari, and Multigreen, who own four plants in the provinces of Terni and Ancona where they are involved in the selection of paper, iron, wood, plastic, and metal, with a total capacity of over 145,000 tons per year. They also recycle production and packaging waste and manage waste disposal, mainly on behalf of Corepla (“National Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Reuse of Plastic Packaging”).
Demap is an essential part of a successful model of circular economy. The activities carried out over the years have allowed to recycle hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic offering an excellent service to local communities and entities, becoming one of the top 10 selection companies in Italy, both in terms of capacity and technology used.
Michele Rizzello, Recycling Manager - Acea Ambiente
Changes in regulations at European level urge the sector to take on more ambitious challenges, and in the next few years Demap will no doubt be once more among the protagonists, supported in this new strive for growth by the experience and solidity of the Acea Group.
Acea’s commitment to circular economy and to recycled plastic processing will contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the UN 2030 Agenda. In particular, Sustainable Goal 12: Sustainable consumption and production patterns, focused on recycling waste. To protect the environment and the ecosystems of the future, recycled plastic will make increasingly more sustainable journeys to reach specialized selection and treatment recycling centers.
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