Norway kicks off major plastics recycling hub

A state-of-the-art plastics recycling plant jointly owned by Tomra and Plastretur has been officially opened in Norway. The facility at Holtskogen near Oslo will sort and treat all types of plastic packaging waste including material that was previously incinerated.

Ithas the capacity to process 90 000 tonnes of plastic per year. The joint venture Områ can separate mixed plastic into up to ten distinct polymer fractions thanks to advanced sensor-based technology. The fractions include:

• polyethylene (PE)
• polypropylene (PP)
• polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
• polystyrene (PS)

The approach will improve plastics recovery and recycling rates and makes it one of the world’s most advanced recycling facilities.

Missing link

Tove Andersen, president and ceo of Tomra says Områ is a missing link in Europe’s circular economy.
‘This facility has the capacity to receive and transform all of Norway’s household plastic packaging waste into recyclable fractions, essentially closing the loop for plastics. It is a cornerstone piece of infrastructure providing reliable offtake for mixed waste sorting facilities and can help recover more resources from source separated material.’ 

Andersen adds the site is a reliable offtake solution for municipalities and waste management companies considering the introduction of automated mixed sorting.

Scalable circularity

By 2030, the EU requires minimum 55% of plastic packaging waste to be collected and recycled at scale under the forthcoming PPWR regulation. Today, approximately one-third of Norway’s plastic packaging waste is recycled; the rest is mostly incinerated.  

‘Områ gives municipalities and the entire value chain a clear signal: there is now a scalable, high-quality route for plastic packaging,’ adds Karl Johan Ingvaldsen, ceo of Plastretur. ‘It provides the infrastructure needed to meet EU recycling targets and supports our shared ambition to build a truly circular plastics economy.’

Områ hosted 300 international guests, including municipal representatives, recyclers, brand owners, NGOs and policy experts, at the grand opening.  Ingvaldsen is confident the facility will become a ‘cornerstone’ of Norway’s and Europe’s resource infrastructure.