CIRCULARIS becomes an ECOSENSE approved recovery operator of post-consumer PET trays

February 2021 – CESPA GESTIÓN DE RESIDUOS S.A achieves the approval for the ECOSENSE-RETRAY scheme for its facilities in Les Franqueses del Vallès (Barcelona, Spain) according to its circular economy strategy.

CESPA Gestión de Residuos, company of the Ferrovial Servicios Group, has almost two decades of experience in waste treatment and environmental management. CIRCULARIS, the company’s facility located in Les Franqueses del Vallès (Barcelona, Spain), is one of the largest in Europe, with a processing capacity of more than 50,000 tons of PET waste for its transformation into recycled PET for food applications. Its cutting-edge technology enables to select the PET trays in an independent stream, whose presence is increasing in PET bales, with an average of 20-25%.

In order to enhance its contribution to the tray-to-tray model, CIRCULARIS have undergone an inspection process by an entity accredited by ENAC under the ISO / EC 17020 standard to verify compliance with the requirements of the ECOSENSE-RETRAY  procedure for approved recovery operators established by the PLASTIC SENSE Foundation.

With its approval, CIRCULARIS contributes to consolidate a circular economy model in the sector of thermoformed PET containers. In this way, the availability of post-consumer PET thermoformed packaging waste is ensured for recycling and subsequent reincorporation in the manufacture of new PET trays. Thanks to this action, not only does it is prevented that the final destination of this type of waste was landfilling, but it is also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by using less energy and resources than if virgin plastic was used in the manufacture of the PET containers.

The final purpose of ECOSENSE is to increase the transformed volume of PET packaging waste that is subsequently incorporated into new trays, that is, in food applications with the same value as the original ones. Thus, it contributes to ensuring that 10 million tonnes of recycled plastics find their way into new products by 2025, according to the European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy.