01

Shape the fibre while it is wet

Repack, founded by Valentin Railean, works with waste paper including printing offcuts. Water turns the recovered fibre into pulp, which can be formed in moulds and dried into packaging such as egg trays.

UNDP describes experiments with solar-assisted drying. An April 2026 EU4Youth account describes further drying equipment and production expansion as plans. These reports show a process under development; they do not establish that every proposed throughput target has been reached.

02

Design the drying step as carefully as the mould

The object may look simple, but its production depends on water removal, consistent fibre quality and repeatable shaping. Drying can determine the energy demand and pace of the entire operation. Improving it is therefore a central manufacturing question.

The attraction of a local system is the potential link between nearby paper discards and nearby packaging demand. That opportunity still needs to be tested against actual transport, water use, product requirements and the ability to run a reliable production schedule.

Sources (2)
  1. UNDP · Repack’s paper-moulding and drying experiments
  2. EU4Youth · Founder, paper inputs and 2026 development plans
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