Hungarian PET recycling company Recy-Pet Hungaria (Karcag; www.recypet.hu) has opened a HUF 2.8 bn (EUR 8.9m) PET recycling and R&D centre in Karcag industrial park, central Hungary. The company received a support grant of nearly HUF 2 bn for the project, which is expected to result in the creation of about 70 jobs. The centre is located near Recy-Pet’s facility for recovering and recycling waste PET beverage bottles. It includes a PET bottle waste recycling line capable of processing 7,000-8,000 t/y of granulate, and is available for use by universities for training courses. An agreement has already been signed with Budapest University of Technology's polymer engineering department, Recy-Pet said.

Hungary produces an estimated 1.4-1.6 bn waste PET bottles per year, of which only 20% is currently recycled, the company added.