Spanish recyclate and compound supplier GCR Group (Tarragona; www.gcrgroup.es) said it has signed up with German plastics recovery system RIGK (Wiesbaden; www.rigk.de).

The agreement with RIGK, which collects and reprocesses plastic materials from industry and the agricultural sector, will allow GCR to certify the recycling of its containers and packaging, such as the bags for its materials, in accordance with German packaging regulations, which were amended as recently as 1 January 2022 and are said to be among the strictest in Europe.

The legislation requires companies wishing to sell products in Germany to meet certain minimum standards and includes guidelines on registration and reporting to authorities and companies in the value chain. From mid-2022, the extended registration obligation will also apply to industrial and commercial packaging. Manufacturers and distributors of the products will then be obligated to register in the Lucid system of the Central Packaging Register (ZSVR).

RIGK has an agency in Spain, in cooperation with Sintac Recycling (Valencia; https://sintac.es), established to set up return systems for industry and the agriculture sector. Additionally, the subsidiary helps local companies seeking to export to Germany understand and comply with the new packaging legislation. As part of a move to create a strategic alliance, in September 2021, GCR has acquired a stake in reclaim firm Sintac (see Plasteurope.com of 17.09.2021).