Aliplast and Panariagroup: a partnership that safeguards the environment

Thanks to the project that Panariagroup has developed for the recovery and reprocessing of the plastic films it uses to package tiles, in 2020 more than 230,000 kg were treated, making it possible to reduce by over 450 tons the CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Launch and development of the project

The close partnership between Aliplast (a company of the Hera Group, specialised in the manufacture of recycled plastic materials) and Panariagroup (an Italian multinational group and leader in the ceramic sector), in 2020 alone, prevented the emission of 450 tons of CO2 into the environment.

The two companies, which have been working hand in hand for several years on this project, have developed a solution aimed at the recovery and reprocessing of the plastic film used by Panariagroup to wrap tiles during the various stages of manufacturing.

Panariagroup, which is strongly committed to environmental sustainability, uses low-density polyethylene-based heat-shrink wrapping film to cover the pallets of goods produced during the various stages of manufacturing. In fact, the process of creating a finished product involves numerous steps, during which the tiles are repeatedly wrapped with different kinds of plastic film.

The results

The recovery includes an initial selection and a reduction in the volume of waste, a stage that takes place directly within Panariagroup’s facilities. The material is subsequently sent to the Aliplast hub, with headquarters in Istrana, in Treviso, where it is first reconverted into granules, then into a new packaging film, and finally reintroduced into Panariagroup’s manufacturing cycle. Each year more than two tons of waste polyethylene are collected from the company’s facilities, of which more than 95% is recycled.

Closed Loop: how does it work

This circular system, known as a “closed-loop” and developed by Aliplast, allows companies to recycle waste plastic and for it to be reprocessed, resulting in a quality product whose technical characteristics are equal to those of products made from raw materials and which can be reinserted into the same manufacturing cycle.

In addition to the substantial reduction in carbon footprint (on average more than 450 tons of CO2 are prevented from being emitted into the atmosphere each year), the partnership with Aliplast has granted Panariagroup a further advantage. In fact, the project falls within PARI: a system for the autonomous management of waste created from packaging, which was developed by Aliplast and is unique in its kind. In Italy, PARI benefits from a reduced environmental tax, granting considerable financial savings to end consumers due to the fact that the final applied tax is less than 40% of that applied for other consortiums or comparable solutions.