In the first half of 2022, PET to PET Recycling Österreich (Müllendorf, Austria; www.pet2pet.at) said it recycled more than 15,000 t of PET beverage bottles, 5.3% more than the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

“Together with our employees, we were able to overcome the major challenges posed by the pandemic,” MD Christian Strasser said. “The armed conflicts in Ukraine have once again shown us the critical dependencies and thus the dramatic developments on energy markets.”

While Austria is still behind on EU recycling targets for 2025 (see Plasteurope.com of 26.07.2022), the country has already reached a different EU target, according to which the share of recyclates in beverage bottles should be at least 30% on average by 2030. The trend in the country, however, continues to rise. To create storage space for the same, PET to PET expanded the company’s premises by 19,000 m². In the process, archaeological novelties from the late Bronze Age were discovered, which PET to PET plans to present at its upcoming 15th anniversary celebrations in September. A photovoltaic system is also to be installed at the new space, which will cover about 10% of the production’s energy needs in the future. The Austrian company also plans to increase this figure in further expansion stages.

Meanwhile, developments on the management front include the promotion of Thomas Billes to head of finance and sales in June. Billes is now responsible for the commercial aspects of the company’s management, and Strasser for technical aspects and corporate strategy.