The plant features Tomra and Sutco equipment and aims to realize a circular economy for plastics by sorting Swedish plastic packaging waste into 12 fractions.
Sweden is taking the next leap in plastic recycling and celebrated the extension of the Svensk Plaståtervinning polymer sorting plant. Originally opened in 2019, the plant was built in collaboration with Sutco and featured Tomra sorting technology. Mattias Philipsson, CEO of Svensk Plaståtervinning, invested in the extension of the facility with the aim of closing the loop on plastics and enabling zero waste. Thanks to the most advanced sorting equipment and expertise from global leaders in the recycling industry, the plant is expected to process 42 metric tons of materials per hour and recover 12 different types of plastics from mixed plastic packaging waste.
“Around 33% of plastic packaging in Sweden is recycled, but unfortunately, there is still a lot of recyclable materials lost. This offers great potential, one that we are committed to unlocking and transforming into a valuable opportunity for the country and the environment. Since 2019, we have successfully been producing 4 different types of plastics for recycling. We always wanted to do more and with the latest technology, we’re able to accomplish our goals.”, explains Philipsson. With Site Zero, the company’s goal is to enable zero waste, zero downcycling, and zero emissions.
Site Zero is equipped with more than 60 Tomra Autosort machines. The 5 km sorting line features some of the world’s most sophisticated sorter systems. The high-throughput technology makes it possible to process approximately 42 metric tons of recyclables per hour. The post-consumer waste is then separated into 12 different polymer types, including various polyolefins, PET, PS, EPS, PVC, and more. Thanks to the combination of sorting technology and a well-designed sorting process, purity levels of up to 98% can be achieved. The clean material fractions are then sent to recyclers in the EU, but Site Zero is also planning to add recycling capacity to further process the main fractions locally.
Leveraging the power of connectivity and data, all Autosort machines are connected to Tomra Insight, a cloud-based data platform for secure, near-real-time monitoring of all sorting lines.
