Creating Value Through Sustainability: Alier at Equiplast 2026
Alier at Equiplast 2026
Equiplast 2026 closed its doors in Barcelona as a reference event for the plastics and rubber industry, with circularity and sustainability at the center of its program. We were there, and the conversations we had over those days reinforced something we already believed: opportunity in this industry no longer comes only from producing more efficiently. It comes from transformation itself, through renewable energy, advanced recycling, circular materials, and innovation built on environmental, social, and governance criteria.
Why Alier Was There
Alier has spent decades working with recycled paper. In recent years, that expertise extended into a more complex waste stream: beverage carton packaging, which combines paperboard, polyethylene, and aluminum bonded together.
The paperboard fraction is relatively straightforward to recover. The remaining polyethylene-aluminum layer, known as PolyAl, has historically been far harder to process, and as a result has often gone underutilized despite the material value it holds. At Alier, we developed a process to recover and transform this fraction through extrusion into a fully recyclable, high-performance material for construction applications. That was the material we brought to Equiplast, along with the engineering behind it.
What Creating Value Through Sustainability Actually Means
A sustainable industrial model depends on smarter management of energy and resources. Through biomass and solar energy, we reduce emissions, improve operational efficiency, and support lower-carbon manufacturing. Water recirculation systems help optimize production, minimize consumption, and reduce environmental impact, which is a practical demonstration of how intelligent resource management generates both industrial value and long-term sustainability.
This is also what ESG means in practice. Environmental, social, and governance criteria are not only about reducing impact; they are about creating social value, operating responsibly, and building organizations that are transparent and accountable for the claims they make. Markets, investors, governments, and consumers are increasingly looking for solutions that combine performance with environmental responsibility, and that shift is exactly what we came to Equiplast to discuss.
Where the Numbers Come From
None of this works as a narrative alone. At Alier, we recycle approximately 200,000 tonnes of waste per year, and 85 percent of our production is exported to more than 70 countries. Our workforce has grown by over 100 percent in the past seven years, reaching 280 employees today. Since 2024, 50 percent of our annual revenue has been reinvested in sustainability-related projects, and our biomass plant has reduced direct CO2 emissions by 98 percent, contributing to a 66 percent reduction in our Environmental Product Declaration through decarbonization processes.
These figures are not separate from PolyAl. They are the infrastructure that makes a material like PolyAl possible to produce at scale, with verified data behind every claim.
Looking Ahead
Building a sustainable future requires real collaboration between industry, institutions, and policymakers. Equiplast 2026 was one of the spaces where that collaboration is actively happening, and the next joint edition with Expoquimia is already set for May 2029.
We left Barcelona with new contacts, new questions, and a clearer sense of where materials like PolyAl fit into the construction industry’s path toward circularity. That conversation does not pause until the next edition. It continues now.
