Using its Intarema recycling system, the Ansfelden, Austria, company recycled plastic waste generated at the K show in a building called the Careformance Recycling Center, erected in the middle of the fairgrounds. The recycling center was in addition to the company's traditional booth space.

It was a real recycling plant, complete with the usual dust and smells. About 33 tons of waste, including material brought in from the outside for demonstration purposes, was recycled at the show.

An Intarema TVEplus 1108 recycling system was the centerpiece of what Erema calls Recycling 4.0. The TVEplus 1108 operated as a smart factory, gathering machine, quality and process data and streaming it to the Erema booth in real time. The system can be integrated with other equipment, not just inside a plant, but anywhere in the world. It can signal when maintenance is needed and even produce a list of the spare parts that are required to fix it. 

In the recycling center, Erema collaborated with Austrian resin supplier Borealis AG, and other partners to demonstrate the latest technology for making recyclable, stand-up pouches. The pouches, made entirely of PE, were recycled and then processed into blown film.

"I like to compare the plastic loop to a relay race," Manfred Hackl, Erema CEO, said. "It is not enough if a part of the value chain thinks only in terms of their processing step. Every manufacturer or processor of plastics has to think one step further to reach the finish line successfully together."