Itelyum, a portfolio unit of a private capital group, said it has acquired a “significant share” in Plasta Rei (Latina, Italy; www.plastarei.com). The companies have announced plans to build a plant for the chemical recycling of PET in Cisterna di Latina. Itelyum did not respond to a Plasteurope.com query regarding specific plant capacities by press time.

Plasta Rei specialises in recycling, and Itelyum is a fund unit set up by private equity group Stirling Square Private Capital (London; www.stirlingsquare.com) that focuses on recycling hazardous and industrial waste.

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The waste for the plant would mostly be derived from food packaging and would be converted into 100% rPET granules “with quality comparable to virgin PET”, the companies said. The quality of the product stands out for its ability to be recycled countless times without the degradation observed in mechanical recycling, Itelyum added. “The chemical recycling process developed by Plasta Rei allows for the recovery of more than 95% of PET waste.”