Recycling plastics during the manufacturing process

The enclosures for many of our devices are produced using injection moulding: plastic granules are melted in an injection moulding machine and then injected into a mould under high pressure. In the next step, the material is cooled and solidifies into the shape we want it to take.

During the standard enclosure manufacturing process, a certain amount of plastic is produced which was previously not reused but treated as production waste. As part of our project, this plastic is fed back into the process – after sorting, it is ground in special mills and, as granules, is reused in the process.

The proportion of recycled plastic at Apator SA, depending on its type and intended use, ranged from 3% to as much as 20% in 2024. Importantly, this process does not reduce the plastic’s performance parameters and therefore has no negative impact on the quality of the final product, as confirmed by our laboratory tests.

The project has resulted in reduced raw material consumption, lower production waste, savings on plastic procurement costs and reduced waste sent for external recycling. As a result, we are also reducing our CO2 emissions*

*For the four grinders used at Apator SA, the total amount of CO2 emissions avoided in 2023 amounted to 84.22 Mg CO2. Since then, Apator SA and Apator Powogaz have invested in further plastic grinding equipment.