For greater control of finished product quality and guarantees on film specifications, the company avails of an in-house POLY ENGINEERING team: a group of 15 highly specialised technicians who conduct the following activities:
The Plastic Packaging Research & Development team constantly invests in process engineering and technological innovation to drive further improvements in recovery and recycling activities aimed at the production and industrialisation of new products, developing new technologies for the automation of extrusion, welding and packaging processes.
All steps of the process are structured to ensure
The results of these innovative processes lead to the production of
Plastic Packaging avails of a high-tech, multifunctional in-house laboratory; all the equipment is SIT certified with annual checks.
Lab
The Lab is equipped to carry out screening of polyethylene film. The laboratory carries out continuous process checks and analyses the technical quality characteristics of PE film in order to guarantee its quality.
The vital job of quality control is carried out with the support of process operators, who monitor film characteristics and record the results on special charts which represent the product’s passport in terms of quality and traceability.
During the granulation stage, IR analysis is carried out to determine the origin of the polyethylene sheet entering the recycling process and to check for the presence of any foreign materials other than PE which could jeopardise the quality of the end product or its weldability. The melt index of the granules at outfeed is checked to ascertain fluidity, which is linked to superior performance during the extrusion stage.
During extrusion, each extruded reel of film is analysed with checks on the dimensions, weight, and appearance of the film. Results are duly recorded.
During welding, tests are carried out on a sample of every finished product, checking the dimensions, weight, and weld strength. Results are duly recorded.
The following tests are conducted in the laboratory:
TEST STAGES
Plastic Packaging holds many patents covering products and production processes, thanks to the continuous activities of the Poly-engineering team in the field of R&D and process industrialisation.
Plastic Packaging pays great attention to water usage in the various stages of the production process: from water treatment to purification, efforts are made to greatly reduce waste and optimise water usage.
To this end, it has implemented:
• integrated collection tank systems to store rainwater
• 4 closed-loop washing tanks, each measuring 700 m²
• continuous closed-loop water treatment plant
• washing system with reduction of fractions other than LDPE.
In 2018, thanks to recycling, ReLife Plastic Packaging saved CO2 emissions equivalent to 12,000 passenger flights from Rome-New York.
In 2018 the amount of recycled film produced was enough to cover:
Since 1976 ReLife Plastic Packaging has recycled more than 360,000 tons of PE: the equivalent of enough post-use plastic film to go round the Earth 100 times.
NF EN 13592 product standard on compliance of refuse bags
HPB (High Performance Bags – CSI) in accordance with UNI EN 13592
Granules and bags boast prestigious certification issued by IIP (the Italian Plastics Institute) on behalf of IPPR (the Institute for the Promotion of Recycled Plastics): Plastic Second Life.