Rethink Plastic

Within Rethink, the focus is on reducing the use of raw materials and reducing the CO₂ footprint. AST uses this as a way to move from a chain economy to a circular economy. We do this using these 5 handles:

Reduce is counteracting waste of materials and energy. To this end, AST is constantly investing in new machines that require less energy. Moreover, with our advanced machinery we prevent granules from entering the environment.

AST holds the Zero Pellet Loss certificate from Operation Clean Sweap®. OCS is a global programme that provides guidelines and various tools to keep granules and litter out of the environment. We regranulate them and use them in our packaging. The waste from our production is also directly used again.

Sometimes measures are easier than thought and awareness and toolbox meetings play an important role in reducing waste.

Energy saving

No granules in the environment

Waste reduction

We are conscious of material recycling. Plastic that is handed in as 'waste' is reused in the production of packaging. At AST, we also focus on reconditioning our packaging.

Our clients request empty bottles and jerry cans back from end-users. These packaging are cleaned and returned to their original condition so that they are suitable for reuse. Material reuse and reconditioning are important steps towards being fully circular by 2050.

Reconditioning

At AST, we recycle in many ways. Our goal: to increasingly use recycled materials - such as post-consumer and post-industrial HDPE - for the production of our bottles and jerry cans.

We also collect all residual waste generated during manufacturing and when machines are started up and switched off in-house. This already involves ten full trucks of material a year alone. We also use a shredder to reduce debris to crushed material. Using an extruder with a special filter, dirt is removed and the material is processed into new granules, which flow back into the production process.

Furthermore, our machinery is being upgraded to make recycling increasingly possible. We now choose Co-Extrusion machines as standard. These machines enable us to maximise the use of recycled material in the production of packaging.

All these steps contribute to our goal of 50 per cent circularity by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2050.

Recycling waste chunks

Co-Extrusion machines

When developing new packaging, sustainability is a key requirement. Consider the use of polymers based on renewable resources, such as sugar cane, sugar beet or corn. We also use CirculenRevive as resource for jerry cans made out of renewed material. Next to that, we use chemical recycling as a way to create renewed oil, which we can turn into new packaging again.

Reproducible production tests have already been carried out with biobased (I'm Green) HDPE types from Braskem, based entirely on sugarcane. This allows us to produce small volume bottles as well as 20L jerry cans. In the future, we want to look at materials created from chemical recycling.

CirculenRevive

I’m Green - Biobased

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