Brazilian retail chain GPA Group and thermoplastic resins producer Braskem have partnered to manufacture recycled plastic packaging from materials collected in supermarkets.
Under the partnership, the two companies are set to produce 60 metric tons of recycled plastic which in turn will be used every year to manufacture the new packaging of Qualitá stain remover products.
Qualitá is an exclusive brand marketed at the Pão de Açúcar and Extra stores throughout Brazil.
GPA sustainability director Laura Pires said: "GPA has always been a pioneer in initiatives related to retail sustainability. With this partnership with Braskem, we are taking an even greater step in this field, joining all the points of the production chain to the lifecycle of consumption.
“We are also, of course, engaging our consumers to take on this responsibility alongside us and generating income and work opportunities for the local community.”
The partnership is part of the Braskem-created Wecycle platform which makes use of plastic waste in the production chain. It is also part of the reverse logistics program of GPA dubbed as Novo de Novo.
GPA Exclusive Brand Technical Development manager Eugênio Júnior said: "Novo de Novo is a pioneering reverse logistics project in large retail, and we have had excellent results in the paper chain.
“The partnership with Wecycle has enabled us to expand the initiative for the plastics segment, ensuring its reinsertion into the production chain and promoting a more correct disposal for this type of material."
The discarded materials in the stations in GPA hypermarkets and the Extra and Pão de Açúcar supermarkets will be collected by the partners and subsequently donated to partner cooperatives of the Program.
After sorting, the plastic moves to a recycling company which in turn manufactures resin made of 70% recycled material and 30% virgin polyethylene. The produced resin is sold to a plastic processing firm to manufacture the packaging for the Qualitá stain remover products.
