A former steel “slag” converted to the circular economy. The largest recycled PET plastic production plant in France has just opened in Messein, in Meurthe-et-Moselle, near Nancy. This plastic is mainly used to make water bottles and food containers, or textiles (fleece, sports clothing, etc.). It is the only one that is easily recycled mechanically.
Created in 2021 and 85% owned by the American investment fund Ara Partners specializing in the decarbonization of industry, Aloxe was founded by two French partners from chemistry (BASF) and waste management (Veolia) . The company has the ambition to become the largest independent industrial producer in Europe of recycled plastic granules from crushed flakes, to serve the food industry or cosmetics markets in particular.
Poor recycling rate
The Lorraine factory benefited from an investment of 25 million euros and employs 36 employees who should increase to 45 at the end of 2023. “This project was considered in light of European regulations, there is a directive which will oblige all food bottle manufacturers to incorporate 25% recycled PET into all their bottles by January 1, 2025. This automatically creates a demand,” Arnaud Piroëlle, one of the two co-founders and executive director of the company, told AFP. .
There were 18 employees in the small historic LPR factory in Vézelise, located a few kilometers from Messein. Bought by Aloxe in 2021, this old factory will close, but its employees, and their know-how, are transferred to the new site.
The problem is that in France, the recycling rate is “bad”, particularly because “the collection rate is bad”, noted Arnaud Piroëlle, who encourages the implementation of a deposit for empty bottles, deemed more effective than sorting centers and selective collection of yellow bins to increase the volumes of raw materials.
In the East, two other PET recycling projects, much larger than that of Aloxe, have been announced.